In This Tainted Soul, Find Redemption
by Dr Megalomania
Summary: I'm sorry but this story is OFFICIALLY ABANDONED. I just can't seem to get it to work. If I come back to it, I will but don't expect anything wonderful anytime soon. And Thanks to Viva-taquitos, for many things including the laugh! Brilliant!
1. Prologue

It's been a hellva long while but . . .

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

I should probably make this very clear, this is the unplanned sequel (well, it's planned, but I wasn't intending to write it until it came sneaking up and bit my muse Brian in the ass) to _In This Tainted Soul . . . There Lies Hope_, and its prequel, _In This Tainted Soul. . ._ basically this means, you get a whole new story that's linked to two seriously long stories. I've tried to tastefully info-dump all you really need to know, but to really get a feel for some of the characters . . . particularly the now grown up card-captors, but I assure you their attitudes haven't changed that much . . .  

Also this story is gonna have some pretty strong language, and some scenes of Yaoi or lemon, whatever the right term is. . . [I'm a old hack now, and I still don't know – been writing for nearly two years now! And proud of it!] Anyway, several pairs of *guys* will be getting it on, now . . . if you don't agree with such a thing, or find it utterly offensive, or even are immature and/or stupid enough to ignore THIS WARNING about it and then go on to flame me about it later then . . . what are you still doing here?! You've got free will, use it! Go read something that you won't find offensive and let the rest of us enjoy my weird and gender-not-restricting world of love! Or . . . give it a try . . . [winks] Hee, hee . . . you might like it!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

~Prologue~

****IN THE NOW****

He landed heavily.

The flight had been long, and arduous upon his torn wings. 

He steadied himself as best he could, his breath coming hard and shallow. He felt pain in wounds old and new, his weak body screaming fury against the exhaustion. Just a little further . . . 

Blindly, he groped as the harsh wind blew unrelenting snow into his face. "Where are you . . .?" He ground out, old habits now resurfacing. Looking through some familiar windows, he saw warmth and security, but not the kind he searched for. He was weak and tired, begging for release from consciousness. In the window of one, he saw a small blonde boy; now at least twice as old as the last time he'd stood on the rooftop. His vision faded, shaken, unfocused. It threatened to topple him, //NO!!// he screamed mentally. Unfocused jade eyes closed briefly as he gathered his resolve. //I want to sleep, I want rest . . .//

Panting, and dropping to a badly bruised knee, he gathered his strength again. He clutched his bleeding shoulder, trying to focus on the small house that was his safe goal. He could see the light from it spill out like a warm blanket. So close was he, and yet his body wanted nothing more than to lie in the freezing snow and die.  

He whimpered, spreading dirty white feathers once more. He struggled to fly to the next roof, pain trying to drag him down into the snow. So close, he was almost there, so close, he was almost there, so close, he was almost there . . . it became his life sustaining mantra, so close, almost there, close, almost, so, there . . .

The snow crunched under him as he made the distance to the next roof. His safe haven was one more jumped roof, a few more steps away, he could make it . . . he could—

Pain ripped through him as he felt dark magic strain to pull him back. It whispered of soothing remedy to his anguish, but also of unspeakable fatality if he should continue. He shuddered, and ground out a weak prayer.

" . . . Yue . . ."

He panted, whimpered, the name of his brother slipping out as a whisper. A warm heady rush of magic, a different kind of magic drew him like a beacon of light. It was so warm, and he was so close . . . almost there . . . so close, almost there . . .

The safe haven was protected by a powerful magic, and he was almost there. Almost drunken with the potent enchantment, he swayed and fell from the roof, landing hard on his bleeding shoulder. The snow that looked so soft, failed to catch him. He lay there for a moment, alone, crying out as hot tears prickled at his bloodshot eyes.

He couldn't give up . . . not when he was so close to harbour. 

He rolled from his side to his front and shuffled until he was on his hands and knees. Taking a few deep breaths, he crawled as best he could. Slowly, painfully, he tried to lift his head for long enough. The gate to his haven was just before him. He paused, summoning his strength again. Damned he would be, if he crawled on hand and knee though that gate. His dignity demanded it, as a creation of Clow Reed. Clow Reed, the Master Magician. The creator of the Clow Cards. He swore quietly, as he dragged his weary body up, trying his hardest to stand tall and walk.

He could barely lift his feet, his spine screamed, and he whimpered with every breath he took.

He wished, and almost prayed that someone would come out of the house and take the burden of movement away from him. So close now . . . he wrapped a hand around the cold metal bars of the gate to swing it open. The Christmas laurel that hung there merrily pricked his skin, almost forbidding him to enter. He pushed again, and the gate swung open. 

"Please . . ."

He couldn't call out any louder, his weak body failed him, his dirty, soiled wings began to constrict about his body, trying to protect him from the freezing cold, trying to usher him gently back to death's waiting arms. Stumbling, he fell forward again, the snow raw and unforgiving as it bit into his palms. He crawled like some demented child, whimpering, crying. He could hear laughter from within, and he was almost within the warm light that promised sweetly of safety. His relief became so profound, his body began to shake and tremble uncontrollably, and he was a breath's distance away from heaven. 

"Somebody . . ."

The very last of his strength finally gave out, as he reached forward to touch the porch's step. "Somebody please . . . Save me . . ."

Bloodshot jade eyes fluttered shut . . .

. . . Dirty white-feathered wings stilled . . .

. . . pale lips parted . . .

. . . and one last breath escaped.

In This Tainted Soul . . . 


	2. For Every Story Must Begin

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai Kuei and the Two of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And Mushu is Bluegoo's, he's quite a snapper, but heck, he's good for us! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter One: For Every Story Must Begin . . .

**In The Time Before . . . In The Time _After_ The Attack of Mystrasa Kyree . . .**

The smell of incense floated in the air, gently dispersing with the breeze. 

A small pink Nadeshiko flower looked almost insignificant in comparison to the large grey stone. The head stone was clean at last; neglect for the few weeks wiped away as if the body it stood over was laid to the final rest yesterday. She sighed and tucked a lock of honey gold hair behind her ear, stepping back into the embrace of her taller brother. Together, they stared at their father's gravestone. A little way off, their lovers stood respectfully, dressed entirely in black. 

The gentle breeze was slow, and quiet as the two siblings stood silently in the contemplation of their parents' shared grave. 

Their mother had passed away a few years after the Card Mistress had been born; their father was murdered only five years ago to this day. Death seemed to chase the two, threatening both, their friends and their family. For their father, death had come at the hands of a mistake created by Clow Reed, Former Master of the Clow cards. 

A flawed reincarnation of his soul had come to try and take both magic and the cards from the Card Mistress, and attempted to turn one of her guardians against her. In doing this, Mystrasa Kyree had unveiled one of Clow Reed's darker secrets. Clow had ignored the ancient magical Law of Triad, creating three guardians instead of the accepted Western Two, or the Eastern Four. The second and the third guardian survived to become the guardians of Clow . . . but the first . . .

The first was sent insane, by Clow's lust, by Keroberos' distrust, and unbearable jealousy of his youngest brother, Yue the Judgement Maker.

In punishment for his repeated attempts to kill Yue and rid himself of his own insanity, Hei-ying was banished from Clow's magic, and sealed in a black book never to be opened again.

Clow placed seals, so powerful that only Clow himself or his reincarnations would be able to open them, upon this book to prevent it from ever being opened and allowing his greatest, and darkest secret to escape. And yet Clow had failed to realise that one of his reincarnations, the flawed, rage-filled Mystrasa Kyree, would be temped to unleash this horror upon the Card Mistress.

 Kyree made her attempt to steal the cards, to turn Yue against his mistress and destroy the Card Mistress, and failed because she – like Clow before her – had forgotten the meaning behind the Law of Triad. 

Balance of magic must be kept.

While she turned Yue the Moon Guardian of the Clow insane, she turned his eldest brother, Hei-ying the Star Guardian of the Clow, sane. 

While she seduced Yue the Judgement Maker, she repulsed Hei-ying the Advisor.

While she showed Yue, an innocent, how to kill without regret, she taught Hei-ying, unremorseful murderer, how to fight for the lives of others.

Kyree failed, and the part of Clow that never wanted to give up his place in life to make way for the future, failed with her.

It lead to the death of Clow Reed, the true death . . . while his body had died peacefully centuries before, Clow Reed's soul was ripped to shreds, and dissipated from existence for one final time. Neither Hiirawagizawa Eriol nor Kinomoto Touya – once keepers of Clow's memories and soul – now possessed his influence. The Sakura cards were not only the Card Mistress' in name alone, but truly hers now. Keroberos The Sun Guardian of the Clow became Keroberos The Sun Guardian of the Sakura; Yue The Judgement Maker of Clow became Yue The Judgement Maker of Sakura. Spinal Sun was no longer the Sun Guardian of Clow's reincarnation, and Ruby Moon was now the Moon Guardian of Hiirawagizawa. 

Hei-ying The Advisor of the Clow died, broken and exhausted, choosing to die than live in a world that no longer held even a whisper of his former creator, his former master, his former lover Clow Reed.

All of this happened but a year ago. 

Sakura could hardly believe that she and her friends had survived. . .

. . . elsewhere someone could hardly believe his luck. 

He stared at the three headstones, his mouth falling open with his awe. Upon his fourth try he had succeed, the spell although ancient had worked. He glanced at each of the stones, and knelt by the first, a rather bland dark grey stone set in the way of a western burial. Scrubbing hard with his dark maroon cuff against the moss-ridden name, the name was slowly revealed.

_Marcibay Hilligans._

He frowned deeply, he'd never heard of this person. He shrugged and motioned one of his creations over, "This one . . ." the creature uncoiled itself and slithered forward, extending sharp claws as it began to dig at the soft earth before the gravestone.

Straightening, the magician glanced at the other stones. Behind him, a woman walked out of the rift in the air. 

She walked up behind him softly; "Have you found them this time?" She asked, her voice soft, almost uninterested. She looked around with eyes blank of all expression, the breeze played with her fringe, blowing it in and out of her line of vision, and locks of dark hair flowed all around her. The house loomed a little way off, "Who lives there?"

"My dear, Asil . . ." The magician reached out and grabbed her hand, "There will be time for all of this later. . . come look. . ." 

He moved over, and motioned to another of his creations. The long, watery creature moved with fluid slithering as it crept closer to its master's side to stare at the second gravestone. It tilted its elegant head as the magician nodded, "This one too . . ." He paused and glanced at a black stone, which had blood red roses curling around it. 

Magic resonated from it, faint, and almost non-existent, but still it hummed a little with a small amount of magic. "A creation?" The magician wondered aloud, "Who would waste time burying a dead creation?" He shrugged a little, and clicked his fingers to his third creation, "And then that one as well."

The third creature floated, and swirled in the air with practiced grace, landing by the seconds, and extending its claws. The heat it resonated with burnt the roses, making them curl elegantly as they browned, blackened, and died. The creature made short work of the ground, and quickly dug down to the casket below. The magician watched the three with avid interest, his plan was beginning to be come to into visible grasp, soon . . . so soon would he be in possession of the final ingredients for the first stage of his spell. 

Meanwhile, the woman turned in a slow full circle, and spotted a fourth head stone a little way off from this impromptu graveyard. She broke away from the magician, and walked over as if carried by the breeze. Her beautiful gown fluttered in the breeze, the hem brushed the grave as she stood beside it. She stared at the grey stone and tilted her head. Now this seemed to spark her long dead curiosity. There was something so familiar about the name on this fourth stone . . .

"My lady Asil?"

She blinked as the voice of the magician called over to her, any recognition of the grave's name floating away easily. She let go of it, and returned to the side of her lord. The magician smiled indulgently at her instantaneous response. "My lady, Asil . . . have you ever seen the skull of magical creation?"

She shook her head, her expression still blank. It didn't interest her, but he continued. 

"My Lady, this is the skull of a living creation . . ." He held up an odd looking skull. The skull was slightly green; it hadn't changed colour with age, it just was a pale green. On the back of it was imbedded a gold etching. It was beautiful in its simplicity and complexity, a contradiction in its own right, the circle held the sun and the moon, which seemed to dance around each other in an endless waltz, to a silent melody. Around them, strong gold lines, and small markings both of the western discipline and of the eastern art of magicks. Instantly, the two magicks seemed to contradict each other and yet compliment each other. This magic circle, engraved in the back of creation's skull spoke deeply of the creator's power.

The magician pointed at the etching, "This is the mark of the creator." He reached down and pulled another skull from the jaws of one of his creations, "This is the skull of the man . . . this man was once the owner of this magic circle." A warm smile pulled at the lips of the magician, "Such a powerful man . . ." The magician's voice was filled with appreciation, he glanced at the green skull and 'spoke' to it, "He must have loved you a lot to bury you beside him . . ." 

The magician tossed the slightly green skull into a cream bag held by his fourth creation, then picked up a black velvet bag out of his pocket and placed the creator's skull into it. The woman watched her lord, as he picked up the third skull. "The question is . . ." he asked thoughtfully, "Who was this man, this Marcibay Hilligans . . . possibly a servant, or maybe a friend?" The magician tossed the skull to one of his four creations that dropped it into another bag, and flicked his wrist. The four creatures nodded, and three of them returned through the rift in the air. The fourth waited patiently as the magician climbed back into the saddle, and held out a hand to the woman. "My lady Asil?"

The woman looked around again, it had been so long since she'd seen the light of day . . .

She looked around to the house again, and frowned as she saw two strange creatures fly out of a window. Long pink hair flowed around on black butterfly winged woman as she chased the large midnight blue cat. Their wings flapped powerfully as they flew together, they raced up the side of the English mansion with practiced ease. Their movements were entrancing, their movements spoke of years of practice and the innate ease they had as they flew to an open window, and passed straight into it.

"My lord . . ." Hissed the fourth creature, "The rift will close soon."

"Asil." Repeated the magician clearer, he shook his hand at her slightly, "we must leave now or be discovered."

"Of course . . ." The woman turned, instantly forgetting what she'd seen, the interest in the pair flitted from her mind again as she walked back to the magician, ". . . My Lord Kuei." 

_"Moshi-moshi, Daidouji residence?"_

"Konbanwa Arisa-san, is my mother in?"

_"Oh? Oh! Tomoyo-sama?! Ah, yes, yes . . . I will fetch her immediately!! It's good to hear your voice, Tomoyo-sama!"_

Eriol looked up as his wife-to-be chuckled lightly, "It's nice to hear from you as well, Arisa-san . . . please, my mother?" 

As Daidouji Tomoyo waited patiently on his antiquated telephone, Hiirawagizawa Eriol smiled gently and glanced over at the door of his study. The old heavy door opened slowly, and Spinel Sun padded in, book clamped tightly in his jaw. The midnight blue cat dipped his head in greeting, and quickly climbed up on to the dark red sofa. Ruby Moon raised her head slightly from Tomoyo's lap, to glance at her brother. She nodded a silent greeting, then returned to her favourite position. Ruby was extremely fond of Tomoyo, and adored watching the fire as she lay her head in Tomoyo's lap like a big cat. Tomoyo didn't mind, it allowed her to do her sewing in peace and quiet, as Ruby napped there. 

Eriol smiled happily and returned to his reading. One of Clow Reed's notebooks lay open on his lap, and he fingered the pages gently. The book of one of many that he never seemed to tire of reading. His life was a quiet one, his wife-to-be slowly learning a small amount of magic spells to compliment her small, but potent power, his guardians remained interesting companions, and there seemed little left for him to do but live out a life which, while not without challenge, was almost complete. Since the defeat of Mystrasa Kyree, and the death of Clow Reed's soul, Eriol had found that he was prepared to take on a similar life as Clow Reed did in his youth. At the age of seventeen, after the deaths of his beloved mother and father, and a favourite uncle, Clow Reed had packed up, and left his family home, disappearing entirely. 

For many centuries to come Clow would cause both the Reeds and the Li's to accuse each other of kidnapping the powerful, young mage and therefore causing a massive rift that would remain unresolved for the rest of eternity. 

When in fact, the stubborn young man had travelled to the middle country of England, and set up his home in the very same mansion that Eriol now resided in. Clow had placed a spell over the house, a very powerful spell that allowed him to exist outside of the land's time. Together with his coachman, a wizened old man of little magic, but grand principles, and his magical creations, Clow Reed lived out his days barely making contact with the outside world. 

It was here, in this very mansion, Clow created his own kind of magic, which was destined to save the magic world from being forgotten. And yet, in this Clow was exceedingly stubborn. He refused to give his magic to the people of his time, choosing instead to give it to one special little girl. The young Cardcaptor Sakura Kinomoto. With the cards, Clow gave life to two of his most complex creations. The two Clow guardians that he'd raised from their creation. Keroberos and Yue had spent many a happy evening in this room. 

Eriol sighed, as a brief memory surfaced, one dim and faded like an old photograph. 

Where Tomoyo was he saw Clow Reed, where Ruby was he saw Keroberos. 

Those fleeting memories were like mist and smoke, disappearing as soon as he realised they were there. They were the last remnants of Clow Reed's soul, tattered old memories. This was the result of the destruction of Clow's soul, memories like that continued to lurk, but they were fading from his mind slowly, as if he was looking at his own memory of remembering Clow's memories. Confusing as that was for Eriol, and no doubt Touya as well, the only good factor that had occurred out of the loss of Clow's soul, was that his magic remained, and Eriol – like Kinomoto Touya – had soon fashioned it to become his own. Eriol's golden staff had remained the same, but the symbols took on new meaning to him. The sun and the moon now represented to him his two loyal creations, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. His robes may have been the same, but his wife-to-be, Tomoyo, repaired them after the battle a little under a year ago. And now, he no longer considered them his version of Clow's robes, but a creation by the hand of his love. A deep, almost purple, red replaced the dark blue cuffs of Clow Reed. Eriol wasn't quite sure how Tomoyo had done it, but the red – she insisted – complimented his lavender grey eyes, and dark blue hair, which he kept for his own sanity's sake in the same style he'd had since the day he'd first travelled to Japan to test Sakura. 

Eriol frowned thoughtfully as he looked around, Clow's library, what could be scavenged from the destruction, remained around them. The books were a little worse for wear, but still readable. Since Kyree's attack, and the subsequent repairing of the house Eriol and Tomoyo had lived here for the last six months together, finishing their high school education in England. Sonomi had opposed the idea at first, worried for her daughter and surprised at the declaration that the two had decided to marry. However, Eriol managed to assure her that he had love enough to ensure that Tomoyo was kept out of harm's way. With much reluctance, Sonomi came to accept this, but insisted that Tomoyo keep her constantly updated. 

Together for the last six months, Tomoyo was getting used to the idea that she would live out her life in this mansion, with Eriol and his guardians for her companions, and in constant contact with Sakura, the card mistress. She also improved her small amount of magic, allowing Eriol to teach her many small spells such as Levitation, casting flower spells, and momentum spells. They were harmless tricks, and Eriol waited patiently until the day when he could teach her more fun tricks. With their future seemingly forever connected with this old mansion in England, Tomoyo agreed on the condition that they never bothered Sakura with his tomfoolery. Eriol knew his wife-to-be was too polite to say it, and although he was attached to the old home, he just couldn't bear to ask it of her.

"Mother?" Tomoyo's face lit up, "Yes Mother, I'm fine . . . yes, Eriol is here with me as well . . . Mother! He's treating me like a queen!" Ruby lifted her head, and smiled warmly, as Tomoyo absently petted her head. "Yes, Mother . . . I've very happy . . . Of course, I miss you. . . and Sakura-chan. . ." 

Spinel yawned quietly in the background and stretched, cricking his joints. 

"Have I heard from her? Yes, I have . . . She and Syaoran-kun are heading to China soon, they wish to speak with the elders of his clan." Tomoyo smiled happily, "I'm returning to Japan when they do, I want to see you and Sakura-chan . . . it's been a long time since I was at home with you . . ."

Eriol smiled and closed his book, it floated from him and replaced itself on the shelf as he stood, and walked over to his wife-to-be, placing his hands on her shoulders. Tomoyo glanced up at him, a lock of her dark purple hair falling from her loose bun. She stared at him as she spoke warmly, "And yes, naturally . . . Eriol and his family will be coming back with us . . . We have some good news, Mother. . ."

While it was nice to have this house in England, Eriol knew it would be nicer still to recreate the mansion he'd lived in during the test of Sakura. 

Spinel stepped of his sofa and padded over to rest his head in his sister's lap, purring loudly, as Eriol pulled the chopsticks from his lover's hair, and allowed her tumbling purple locks fall around her soft features.

_Meanwhile . . . In Japan . . ._

"HAI!! SWITCH POWER *ON*!!"

The Guardian Beast of the Seal, Keroberos slammed his small paw down on the controls, and dived over to push the small joystick. The simulated small man walked around the maze, the game's timer had begun, and Kero felt sure his plan of attack this time was going to work. "Ah Ha!! I'm going to get you!!"

Meanwhile behind him, Kinomoto Sakura packed her clothes, ready for travel in the morning. The seventeen-year-old card mistress took great care as she packed her magical costumes and her normal every-day clothes. Beside her, her once rival, now her fiancé, Li Syaoran tried his best to help, his bags were already packed and waiting with his butler Wei. Syaoran watched with some bemusement as his fiancée worried over which costume to pack. 

"Sakura-chan. . ." He began as she picked up, put down, and picked up again the ornate pink hat that Tomoyo had sent her in the post, it was a replica of her older brother's traditional robes' hat, only in deep pinks that offset the highlights in Sakura's honeyed locks. "Sakura-chan, it's just a hat . . ."

"It's not about the hat Syaoran-kun, I don't want to look bad in front of your family!" Sakura sighed, as she pulled out her favoured dark pink cloak. It had nearly been destroyed almost a year ago, in a battle that almost claimed her life, and the lives of her friends and family. She loved the cloak dearly, a gift from her best friend, Tomoyo, and almost refused to leave without it. "I'll travel in this, and then—Aa!! Iie!" 

Syaoran rolled his eyes, "Sakura-chan . . ." He grabbed her and pulled her close, "Sakura . . . Whatever you wear, as long as you are there by my side, will be appropriate . . ."

The emerald-eyed Card Mistress opened her mouth, but closed it. She blushed slightly and shuffled forward so she could lean her forehead against his shoulder, murmuring softly, "Arigato, Syaoran-kun . . ."

Small paws balanced precariously on the controls, Kero tilted his smaller form's head as he watched their reflection in the television monitor. Sakura was going to be powerful, and even though he and the Gaki didn't get on very well, Keroberos knew Syaoran would make an excellent companion for her. He turned back to his game, and sighed, Sakura had yet to realise how much power she would have, and what effect it was going to have on her in the long time. She really had no idea that she didn't have to impress those stuffy old elders from the Li family because she would far out live them. He shrugged and pounded the 'A' button, distributing more bombs. He knew though, that her personality wasn't as strange as Clow's and that she wanted to keep good relations with the Li Clan, if only to make up for what Clow had done to them so very long ago. The bombs began going off, and Kero leant his small body against the joystick, trying to make his small man move faster. With the rapidly increasing amount of magic that she possessed, Sakura had been granted a chance of a vastly extended lifetime, perhaps even immortality. 

The same prospect of immortality that haunted Clow.

Kero stared at the screen, not really seeing the game. Clow had lived his life alone in that massive house with nothing but Kero and Yue to take care of him; it was a surprise Clow hadn't driven himself and his creations insa— 

A chill racked over Kero's small false form.

Now that wasn't the real truth, was it? Keroberos stilled as he stared into the screen, he suddenly saw his false form, tiny in the reflection. His reflection's face looked haunted as he remembered the dark, seemingly endless corridors of the Clow mansion, the freezing snow storms that were as beautiful as they were deadly, and especially he remembered the bright silver scissors that twirled over and over in pale hands that had come to yearn to squeeze the life out of this tiny form of Keroberos'. His small black eyes glazed over, and the smile faded from his small mouth as the cold truth surfaced in his mind. Clow had driven one of his creations insane, hadn't he? And Keroberos . . . _Keroberos had been there . . ._

Kero continued to stare without seeing, not realising he'd begun to tremble as if he was on the cold rooftop once more. 

Had he survived and gone on with his brothers the first time around, it was very clear that Hei-ying would have been a good guardian, perhaps . . . he was incredibly intelligent, resourceful; he was created to be the perfect advisor of the Clow, created to know everything, even more that Clow himself, about the cards. He was skilled in so many things, and yet . . . Clow had destroyed all of this, with lust and anger. True, fault lay with Hei-ying's bloody stained hands as well, but the truth was as creator of this flawed guardian, Clow's ingrained arrogance had led to deep character flaws in Hei-ying. Even now, Keroberos could barely think what would have happened had Yue been created first, how different things would have been. As a child, Yue - with his sweet temperament - had been an adorable child, filled with innocence, and an un-jaded outlook on life that helped to craft both Clow and Keroberos into the personalities that they existed as. To think of Clow destroying all of this in a single night . . . or even - Keroberos swallowed hard - over ten years . . . Hei-ying had been locked away with Clow Reed alone for ten whole years . . . and no-one really knew what had really happened . . . what Clow had done to Hei-ying remained a sinister secret, locked forever and the key lost as time swept the years along . . . ten, long, lonely, silent years . . .

Even though Keroberos had sworn never to forgive Hei-ying, Keroberos had to admit ten years of abuse at the hands of their manic depressive, impulsive and incredibly powerful creator was punishment enough for the dark angel. He could still vividly remember the look on Hei-ying's face when he stood up to Kyree, the exhausted, haunted look that spoke of pain buried for far too long. The jade eyes that were sharp and piercing stared dully, stripped of their insanity, as the dark angel revealed briefly a glimpse into-- 

**GAME OVER**

Keroberos blinked as the screen flashed at him insistently, manic laughter of the evil overlord he was meant to defeat ringing out merrily. "Na-na-NANI?!" Keroberos jumped to his small hind legs and screamed at the screen. Behind him, Sakura and Syaoran glanced at each other puzzled; the screen had been blinking like that for a few minutes. Keroberos' reaction was extremely delayed, Syaoran shook his head, as the small gold bear stood up and walked over to the screen, yelling loudly, "WAH!! I LOST!!!"

"I got so far!! I would have beaten him easily!!! I don't understand what went wrong!! My plan was brilliant!!"

He glanced over at the Card Mistress' bedroom door as the voice of his elder brother rang out. 

Moon Guardian of The Sakura, Yue smiled slightly, and returned to his book. It was one of his old notebooks; from when he was . . . he raised an eyebrow . . . from when he was a child. It was so hard for him to even think of himself as a child, that once – according to Keroberos – smeared bright green paint on Clow's study carpet, and then, when confronted by a frankly bemused Clow Reed and a shocked Keroberos, simply smiled and burst into a hearty round of baby giggles. 

A small picture of Keroberos' false form sat on the date of one page, with a finger raised and lecturing sternly.

Yue shook his head, and began to read the lesson of that day. It was one of his manipulations of the cards lessons, his ability to control the Woody. He touched the faded ink markings of Clow's hand writing, complete with its near illegible sprawls and almost incomprehensible punctuation, tracing with a finger the faint pencil of his childish diagrams. It seemed like a lifetime ago . . . it was a lifetime ago. 

Yue looked up, and stared as a dark, thin cloud rolled in the night's velvet sky.

He was sat at the top of the stairs, finding himself most comfortable there. Just at the right angle to catch the moonlight as it poured in from the skylight. He sighed and shivered as the magic filtered over him, at the end of the corridor, the shower was running loudly. Kinomoto Touya was bathing, ready for the evening. They were going to drive Sakura to the airport tomorrow with the Li Clan head and Keroberos, while Yue stayed behind with his Mistress' elder brother. 

Sakura was seeking the elders' approval to marry into the Li family. Or rather she was seeking permission to marry the clan head. It would not be appropriate for the Card Mistress to marry into a magically lesser family. Yue shook his head and flicked a page; the traditions of the old ways still dictated many things, even if Sakura wasn't aware of it and the fact that the Elders rightfully should have been begging her to join them. He tutted to himself and tried to continue to read, unable to really absorb what was on the page because of the over whelming amount of magic being infused into his body by the full moon, as the dark clouds cleared again. 

There'd been little call for him lately, and he and Yukito had come to a joint decision that Yue could come out and enjoy life more while Yukito took the chance to delve into their subconscious mind, trying to piece together their shared memories, looking possibly for his own real childhood.

Since their temporary . . . he gripped the pages tightly . . . separation during the time of Mystrasa Kyree's attack, Yue had come to value Yukito so much more. It meant a lot to him, that his late eldest brother had give Yue a chance to save Yukito once more . . . even though, originally the two had once been of one mind, one body, and one soul . . .    

Yue and Yukito still couldn't bridge the spilt, still couldn't find a way back to the way that they once were . . . but neither tried very hard. Yuki's attempts to find their past was more like looking for evidence that he really existed, his old worry about not being human surfacing only when he could remember parts of his childhood. Yue wasn't as interested in his childhood, beyond knowing what Clow had been like, what his brothers had been like. They'd become too comfortable as two entities, rather than the one . . . Keroberos and Clow's Little Moonbeam was forever lost, split between Little One, and the Snowy Rabbit. 

Yue tilted his head back, allowing his long white fringe to spill back. 

The moon poured in through the sky light, filling him with much needed energy. This summer had seemed to last forever, and the winter seemed like an eternity ago. 

The door to Sakura's room opened, and Keroberos fluttered out. The small version of his brother quickly transformed and padded up to him, purring loudly as the older lion deliberately rubbed himself against Yue on his way down the stairs. The lion's long, white haired tail came up and patted him on the head idly, as the lion bounced down the stairs. Keroberos was always happier in the summer; winter always brought back too many memories of the past. 

Yue watched the end of his brother's tail disappear around the corner before tilting his head up and stared deeply at the stars and wondered . . . about Hei-ying, his eldest brother. The source of many of Keroberos' overprotective traits and some of Yue's worst nightmares. The black haired angel who'd loved Clow so very much, and paid for it with his sanity, his innocence, his duty to Sakura, the purpose of his creation and finally, in the cold winter before this very year, he'd paid for it in full with his life. Looking back, Yue found himself wishing that he'd been able to know Hei-ying, know him as he was before his death. When he'd attained sanity, and become what he was meant to be . . . the advisor of Sakura. The angel, although exhausted from battling his emotions and his past crimes, had been like the eldest brother he was always meant to be. 

However, Hei-ying could not have survived . . . the laws of magic would not allow it . . . 

His shoulders dropped heavily, as Yue closed his eyes and lowered his head, his fringe reflexively covering his feline eyes. 

Everyone else could not understand . . . even Kero could not understand what it was like to realise that once there was someone exactly like him, who had the same problems as he did . . . a false form that could be loved, a true form that was admired yet feared . . . 

"You're thinking about him again . . ."

Yue nodded slightly as his senses welcomed the touch of Touya's magical aura. The angel opened his amethyst eyes, and stared into Touya's deep blue, "I find myself . . ." The angel paused, and closed his book, thinking as he fiddled with the object. "I find myself wishing I could have known him better . . . before he died . . ." He watched a drop of water run off Touya's still wet hair, before speaking again, "Unlike your mother, you and Sakura, Kero doesn't tell me much about Hei-ying which I can trust to be completely true and untainted by his anger . . ."

"Perhaps it is true . . ." Touya shrugged, he raised the spare towel and began to vigorously rub his hair. "You are just wishing for a brother that doesn't eat so much pudding, or plays computer games . . ."

A small smile pulled at the angel's lips as he stood and held out his hand to Touya. The dark haired Kinomoto smiled, and wrapped the wet towel around his shoulders so he could take the proffered hand and hold it tightly. The two's Luna influenced magic stirred deeply between them, and Touya smiled privately as Yue's beautiful feline eyes began to glimmer dimly. As the two walked into their master bedroom, Yue leant over and kissed Touya's bare, wet shoulder, "Perhaps . . ."

"Ruby! Don't fly too far!! We're leaving in a few hours!!"

"HAI!!" Ruby called back as she fluttered up to the roof of the formerly Reed Mansion. Eriol shook his head at Spinel as he muttered, "follow her, Spinel . . ." He glanced at Tomoyo meaningfully, "I don't think she listens to me anymore!"

Spinel sighed and shook his tiny form's head, "Yes, Master Eriol . . ." 

As the small, blue, butterfly winged guardian fluttered after his sister, Tomoyo laughed gently and looped her arm through Eriol's, "Are you suggesting I order your guardians about?" 

"Of course not, my dear . . ." Eriol smirked and patted her hand, "I'm suggesting that my guardians favour you over me, their master and creator!"

The violet haired girl raised a hand to cover her mouth as she smothered a giggle. She looked around as they walked around the paths of the former Reed mansion. Eriol had kept everything pretty much the same, as it was when Clow had lived here. The same flowers in the same garden plots, even a pond with a small shed nearby remained, although Eriol had refilled the pond. She sighed and they continued down the path, walking past the pond, toward the orchard grove where they'd buried Kaho and Hei-ying after Mystrasa's attack. Tomoyo glanced at Eriol; he didn't like to come down this way very often, rarely coming to the graveyard. Eriol beamed at her, "I want to say goodbye to Marcibay . . . it's an old habit, but whenever I leave the country . . . I like to tell him where I'm going . . ."

She smiled slightly, "You never told me who this mister Hilligans was to Clow . . . a friend?"

"A father almost . . . he made sure Clow kept his feet on the ground . . ." Eriol smiled slightly, "Although now . . . now I have no connection with the man, Clow's habits still come out ever so often . . ."

Tomoyo nodded, and unlinked her arm from him. She closed her eyes and chanted softly, a bunch of roses came into existence in her hands. "There . . ." She smiled warmly as she held them up, "While you visit Hilligans-san, I shall wish Hei-ying-san and Clow-sama a happy day . . ." 

She stared into the empty sockets of Clow Reed's skull. 

The name echoed around her mind as loudly as the footsteps of her lord did in the huge room. He entered the room, pushing the double set of doors wide open, and stormed in. "My spell is almost complete!!" He called to her; she turned and glanced at Lord Kuei. His dark grey eyes were wide as he pushed his long black hair back out of his eyes. Lord Kuei smiled and reached out to touch her shoulders, "So soon, my Lady Asil  . . . you shall regain your true form!" 

"That is good . . ." The woman smiled faintly, trying to appear more happy about this than she felt. She felt nothing, she wasn't happy, she wasn't sad . . . she wasn't angry, nor was she blissful . . . she felt nothing . . . thought nothing . . . she was nothing, but a body in motion . . . and yet . . .

There was a time, she knew she felt something . . . was something . . . she was someone once, and a prevailing sense of wrong echoed in her heart . . .

Lord Kuei smiled triumphantly, as he pulled the first skull, the skull of Marcibay Hilligans, from the shelf. 

"I shall experiment on this . . . then . . ." 

He glanced at the other two skulls. Both sat beside each other on the mantle shelf. Eyeless, and empty, the two stolen skulls glared out from their position. Kuei smirked, as he stared at them. There was nothing they could do that could stop his plan from going into motion. 

"I shall recreate this creation of Clow's, and then Clow . . . the man himself . . ."

_--------

And Now's It's Time to LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: I know, I know, I said I wouldn't but then this idea just would not leave me alone … mostly it's Clow'd9, Tam Chronin and Bluegoo's collective fault, I can't help it, but I've started so I'll finished!! I hope that this will be a decent sequel to the others, and that you enjoy this new story, as much as I do!! Please R&R!!


	3. Awakening The Past

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai Kuei and the Two of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And Mushu is Bluegoo's, he's quite a snapper, but heck, he's good for us! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Two: Awakening The Past 

**In The Time Before . . . In The Time Of The Mistress' Return To Japan**

"Sakura-chan!!" 

Syaoran yawned as he and his fiancée stepped through the gates. He pulled his bag over his shoulder a little more, and looked around for the source of the voice in the milling crowd of arriving passengers. Tomoyo was waving hard from the visitor's meeting way, Eriol and Nakuru just beyond her. "Tomoyo-chan!!" Sakura called loudly, she hauled her small egg bag up higher, and waved hard. "Tomoyo-chan!!" 

Sakura picked up her other bag and jogged over, passing through the crowd easily. Behind her Syaoran and his butler Wei picked up the suitcases and ran after the seventeen-year-old card mistress. They came to a stop as Tomoyo smiled tightly, and grabbed Sakura's hands tightly. She glanced over Sakura quickly, looking for any signs of stress at all. "I'm glad your journey was without trouble so far . . ." she murmured, and closed her eyes briefly.  

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked and glanced at the others, sensing a small bit of weariness and tension in the air. Despite the warmth of the day, Eriol looked pale and faintly angered as he nodded to Syaoran. Nakuru grinned brightly, and – although she too was pale – took the bags off Wei. "Please!" She chirped a little happily to Wei, "we'll take them home!! Please go on without us!" 

Wei blinked, and glanced at his eighteen year old clan head. Syaoran too was taken back by the unusual request, "surely a reunion can wait for a while, the journey—"

"No," Eriol snapped uncharacteristically, he reigned in his anger for a moment, and smiled cordially. "Please . . . we have much to discuss . . ."

"Eh?" Sakura blinked and glanced at Tomoyo, noticing for the first time, Tomoyo's smile was a little forced as well. "Tomoyo-chan?" 

"Please . . ." Tomoyo murmured, squeezing Sakura's arm tightly, "something strange has happened . . ."

"What now?!"

The sunlight filtered in through the drawn curtains, warming the room, but hiding the occupants from view. The teapot steamed, filling the air with the sweet smell of fresh tea. Syaoran growled at Eriol, as the English magician sipped from his teacup calmly. They'd travelled to Sakura's home thanks to Tomoyo's mother and her limousine, stopping at Syaoran's home to drop off Wei and to allow Syaoran to get a change of clothing and a shower. Now sat around the coffee table, Syaoran glanced at Sakura and frowned deeper, "why can't we have a break?!" He turned his glare on Eriol, "It's just one magical disaster after another with you!"

As Spinel shook his small head, Eriol lowered his tea and breathed in slowly. "Clow Reed's . . . and Marcibay's and Hei-ying's graves have been desecrated . . . their skulls have been stolen." 

Ice blue magic sparked quickly under his feet, as Yukito's eyes rolled back in his head before he had time to react fully to the news and Keroberos choked on his biscuit, spilling crumbs all over Spinel Sun. Sakura blinked, "hoe? But why?"

"I don't know." Eriol sighed and breathed out, "But whoever did it will be found. I may no longer be Clow Reed's reincarnation, but it's disgraceful that someone should think that they could steal from Clow Reed's grave as if it's some sort of trophy!" Eriol growled darkly, "the dishonour that my former life's dearest friend should face, his grave, untouched for hundreds of years!" 

The magical maelstrom of Yue's transformation ended and Yue's wings retracted as the angel stood, making a swiping motion with his hand. "Why didn't you inform us sooner?!"

"Yue-kun!" Nakuru's transformation finished as soon as Yue's, as Ruby Moon too stood. She slammed her hand down on the table, irritated by the implication that they had taken this disgrace lightly, "we were about to leave for Japan!! We had no time!"

"No time?!" Keroberos stood and dusted himself down. The small guardian turned heated anger on Spinel as the small blue guardian held a paw on to his arm. "You had no time to tell us that someone stole from our former creator's grave?!"

"All of you!" Touya raised his hand, "please. . ." he stared at Eriol, "can you think of any reason why?"

Eriol sighed wearily and sat back. "I've not got a clue why . . ." he raised his hand and rubbed at his eyes, "I can't think of any magic spell that would require the skull of anything, let alone Clow's . . ."

"Strangely, someone took from Mister Hilligan's grave . . . yet left Kaho-san's grave intact . . ." Tomoyo murmured, picking up her cup and holding it to warm her hands, "it's so pointless, few people know of Clow aside from the magic world . . . and even fewer know who Mister Hilligans was to Clow Reed."

For a moment, Sakura glanced at Eriol as the young man sighed unhappily.

"Eriol-kun!" He blinked and looked at her, Sakura leant forward, "kitto!" She promised faithfully, "honto kitto!! I'll help you find them!" Sakura clenched her fist, "Clow-sama should be allowed to rest in peace!!"

Yue breathed in and closed his eyes, raising a hand to brush his fringe back. "I too wish to search . . . Clow's remains have to be found, no matter what . . . but I . . ." he opened his eyes and stared at them all, "my brother's grave should not have been touched; my brother should be left to rest!" 

"And This Hilligans man!" Keroberos stood and transformed quickly into his full form. He landed beside Yue and stared at the others defiantly, "I remember Clow was very protective of his memory! Clow Reed may have been strange, but he was our creator too! We'll find them!!"

Eriol smiled gratefully, and glanced at Touya. The two reincarnations nodded to each other before Eriol looked at the others, "with such enthusiasm . . ." Eriol smiled back at the four magical guardians, "I'm sure it will be no time until they are found . . ."

The hustle and bustle of Old Bird Street was loud as ever, he could barely hear himself as he sold his wears. 

The tourists from all over the world poured over his goods, picking out the most quaint and taking their time sorting out each of the pennies. He smiled, in all of his eighty years; people had never changed. The tourist kept coming openly staring at the old structures and the even older barterers. The Chinese children ran in the narrow streets, the laughter mixing with the chirps of the birds. He smiled happily, the noises, even though they never changed, were always sounding like a different symphony every day. He loved the noise of people bartering in rapid fire Chinese, of the English tourists asking in slow Chinese for directions. Of the children and their silly little songs, and their laughter, and of the old women who gossiped and the old men who shouted their wares. 

He could tell you any noise at anytime, he knew them all, heard them all . . . his sight may have been fading, but his hearing was the same as the day he was born to a small peasant family, working the padded fields. 

And this was why he blinked with confusion when the new noise came. 

It was strange in that he couldn't hear it, and yet he could. He looked around, frowning deeply as it came closer. It was like it sucked all sound into it, and was definitely not natural. His eyes finally fell upon her.

The woman was of Chinese descent, her eyes told him that much and her black hair was too black and sleek to be western.

She was slight, and neatly presented. Marrying her would be easy for any father to arrange, and a matchmaker's delight.

He frowned; she stared at him . . . and only him. 

A chill came over his old shoulders. She moved forward, her eyes bland and unseeing. The old man wanted to run, but his fear held him in his place, he couldn't escape her dull, uninterested gaze at all. "What?" He asked in archaic Cantonese, "what do you want from me?"

She stepped closer, and raised an eyebrow, "nothing . . ."

His lips twisted in distasted, "why are you here?"

"I don't know . . ."

The old man paused as he realised all around him had fallen silent. No woman gossiped, no man cried out. No child laughed, no tourist bartered. Even the birds, such a constant through out his long life, had fallen unbearably quiet. There was nothing but this woman.

"Why are you doing this to me? What reason did you have to do this to me?"

The woman blinked slowly, her beautiful eyes still horrifyingly blank.

". . . I don't remember . . ."

For the old man, there was no reason to know why. For this poor man, as the beautiful woman turned away from him, and silently began to walk away from him, he would never really know why he was chosen. His life began in silence, his mother dying at the moment he opened his eyes. His life ended in silence.

**In the Time Before . . . In The Time of The Search For Clow Reed's Remains . . .**

The Watery.

The Shadow.

The Twin.

The Return.

The Create. 

The Watery.

The Shadow.

The Twin.

The Return.

The Create.

The Watery.

The Shadow.

The Twin.

The Return.

The Create.

The same five cards came up in the fortune telling. Over and over. No matter what Sakura said, no matter what she did. They shuffled the cards, even had Tomoyo deal them, and the results were the same. They didn't make any sense, but the fortune remained. Watery. Something with water, Sakura had that sense, something about water. Shadow. Sakura felt it was something to do with darkness. Twin. The sight of the card had made Sakura blurt out Oniichan, but she felt that Touya was in no danger. Return. It was not a return to a time, but a return of something to this time. 

Create. 

Create was the hardest to explain, and Sakura couldn't understand the feelings it invoked in her. During their search for the skulls of Clow, Hei-ying and Mister Hilligans, the Create card felt the most important. Sakura couldn't understand it, and that was why the fortune made no sense. Even Eriol couldn't explain it's meaning to them. For the two years they spent searching the world for an inkling or rumour of the whereabouts of the missing body parts. 

It was a frustrating period in their lives.

No one knew anything, no one heard anything. It was so strange and painful for the guardians, especially Yue and Keroberos. To have their creator's grave desecrated, the eldest brother's final resting place disturbed. It was almost too much for the two. They searched even when the others started to give up, even when Eriol admitted defeat, Yue and Keroberos continued to search.

Little did they know . . . that the answer lay just north of their home, in an old castle hidden from view by age-old Chinese mountains . . .   

"Mehza Ha Toru. Mehza Ha Toru. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Ta gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TORU!"

The elderly Chinese man gasped with fear as a long dragon, liquidly and a deep blue slithered lazily around him. It looped itself back, acting almost as if it had no bones within it. The elderly man was going blind, but even he could see the dragon's slow smile. He heard its voice, a feminine, languid voice as she whispered, "don't worry . . . it will all be over so very soon . . ."

He felt water trickle all over his body as the deep blue dragon started to cover him, he didn't understand what was happening. Why any of this was happening, he was just selling his wares one moment to the young woman with the long black hair, and the next he was laying on a cold stone in this strange room. There was flicker out the corner of his eye, and a dark red dragon moved toward him. It rattled like a cobra snake as it watched him, moving slowly forward. A dark growl issued from it, as it waited to strike. 

"Mehza ha Toku. Mehza ha Toku. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Ta gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TOKU!"

The red dragon breathed in, rapidly dragging air into its lungs with a rasping sound. The old man bit down on his gag and cried out, as the dragon circled him quickly and a ring of fire surrounded him. From within the flames, the old man could see the bright eyes of the dragon staring at him intently. The voice of their master, a Chinese man with strange robes, spoke in a strange language that he read from a large book. The man paced around the altar, excitement in his every step. Besides the altar there were five pillars. Four of which sat the dragons before he called them. On the middle one –slightly raised above the others – was a skull, a human skull. The old man was fearful, what kind of trick was this?

"Mehza ha Tozu. Mehza ha Tozu. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TOZU!"

The green dragon opened its eyes, and swirled itself around the pillar like a gust of wind. It crept toward him slowly, watching his with age-old patience. It looked as if it was bored with this, it moved toward him, and curled around. Blowing the ring of fire into frenzy. The old man looked up as the flames reached higher, and the wind dragon gusted upwards. Above him, a strange looking portal opened and a dreadful shrieking issued forth. The old man's eyes widened, as he saw faces in the darkness, arms reach out for the wind dragon as it passed before the opening. The man whimpered into his gag, as he stared into the abyss. He glanced out the corner of his eye to see the magician pick up the skull and moved forward. "Mehza ha tozu . . ." he passed the skull over the old man, then held it high in the air, "Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. . ." 

The wind dragon swirled around the raised skull for a moment before ascending again. 

It dived into the dark waters of the abyss, causing the shrieks to become even more audible. The old man's eyes widened with fear, as the faces twisted, the arms wildly grabbing out. The cries turned from random moaning to clear begging as the dragon searched through them. 

The yellowy green dragon reappeared out of the abyss, with a dark form following behind it. The dragon swirled around the skull once more, and corralled the dark form to bond with the skull. The old man was horrified as the skull suddenly jerked into life, and opened its jaws, shrieking with all its worth in English. "DROWNING!! I'M DROWNING!! I CAN'T BREATHE!! DROWNING!! THE WATER!! I CAN'T BREATHE!!" 

The old man squirmed violently against his bonds as the magician smiled indulgently and placed the screaming skull on his chest. He stared at the magician, as he stepped back to his position. "Mehza ha Tohu. . ." he smiled, as the fourth dragon, this one black and white, with long claws, and pointed wings, unfurled itself. "Mehza ha tohu . . ." 

It crawled down the pillar, its long sharp claws scraping and clicking against the metal. 

"Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra." 

"DROWNING!! PLEASE CLOW!!" The skull on his chest continued to scream, the last moments of the skull's life being replayed painfully, "YOUR DEVIL IS KILLING ME!! I'M DROWNING!!" 

The old man felt his mind begin to slip from him, his sanity breaking like a frail glass as he watched the black and white dragon crawl closer with its clicking claws. Energy crackled from it, the black and white dragon hissed as it came closer to the water's edge. Deep within his chest, the man's heart beat so fast it was beginning to rip itself apart. 

Maduokai watched as the man's torso began to spasm. The man was having a heart attack, as the spell began to prepare his body. He nodded happily, all was progressing well, the skull had been given its soul back, and the new body for the soul was almost ready. Lord Maduokai raised his arms joyfully, as he tipped his head back. The magic swelled and throbbed all around him. Lord Maduokai closed his eyes, as he called out the last command. "MEHZA HA TOHUUUUUU!!"

The black and white dragon's crackling magic touched the water, and electrified the room. The water dragon shook herself as magic coursed through her; the fire dragon's flames reached the ceiling and scorched the body of the old man. The wind dragon roared and gusted, and the abyss of souls screamed out as the dragon moved away from them. The white parts of the smallest dragon glowed brightly with energy, as it sank its long black fangs into the old man's neck. 

_"RA!! TAR GAN SHI GAARRRAAAAAA!!!"_

The room was filled with light so blinding . . . 

-------

And now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Konnichiwa!! Wai!! Wai!! [runs around in circles] Sugoi!! Everyone is incredible!! Honestly!! Thank you!! Thank you!!!

Yue: I thought you were refusing to do a sequel …

DrM: Yeah, I was but then Brian …

Brian: [really deep voice] Hi.

DrM: … got this brilliant idea, and refuse to leave me alone until I wrote it … Anyway, don't you want to see Hei-ying again …

Yue: Not particularly … CONSIDERING HE HAS AN OBSESSION WITH KILLING ME!!!

Hei-ying: but Yue … we've got so much to resolve!! 

DrM: [blushes] And everyone has been so nice and reviewed so wonderfully!! Thank you very much!!

Brian: [really deep voice] Please R&R!


	4. Rushing Toward The Present

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai Kuei and the Two of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And Mushu is Bluegoo's, he's quite a snapper, but heck, he's good for us! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Three: Rushing Toward The Present

**Four Years Later . . . In The Now . . .**

He landed heavily.

The flight had been long, and arduous upon his torn wings. 

He steadied himself as best he could, his breath coming hard and shallow. He felt pain in wounds old and new, his weak body screaming fury against the exhaustion. Just a little further . . . 

"WHY YOU LITTLE --!!" 

Keroberos threw his head back and yelled, as Yue opened the window again. "IF YOU WEREN'T MY FAVOURITE LITTLE BROTHER, I'D . . . I'D . . . ARRRGGGH!! YUE REED KINOMOTO, YOU WILL CLOSE THAT WINDOW THIS INSTANT!!"

Yue looked over his shoulder at his raging older brother and sighed, "Keroberos . . . just because you are older than me, doesn't mean I have to obey you . . . besides . . . it's too warm!!"

"Too warm for *you* perhaps, but for other people who DON'T have ice for blood . . ." Keroberos shivered violently, and dived under Sakura's blankets. He sighed and wrapped himself warmly in her pyjamas. Even though their mistress was now twenty years old, she still lived at her family home with her brother. Syaoran had made the move to the mansion in the hills over looking Tomoeda already, living now with Tomoyo and Eriol; however Sakura and Touya were reluctant to leave the house they had grown up in just yet, and declined Eriol and Tomoyo's offers. They had bought the house next to theirs though, using the money left to them by their father, and their great-grandfather to expand their gardens further and knocking down the house beside them.  It left them with a little more space to move about in with their garden, and gave Yue and Keroberos space enough to spread their wings. 

It was winter now, cold and bitter, with freezing winds blowing in from the seas. 

Keroberos rolled his small form's eyes and rolled off the bed, careful not to dislodge the bundle of warmth he'd wrapped around himself. He hopped somewhat ungraciously out of the room with a trail of soft thuds. He paused in the doorway to glance back at his youngest brother, and shook his head, there was only one thing that could mesmerise the moon guardian aside from his lover and that was snow. 

There was plenty of snow, and Yue enjoyed it intensely.    

He sighed and continued to lean out, ignoring Keroberos' repeated grumbles that he would catch a cold. Tonight they would be having a Christmas party, and their extended family would be joining them. Eriol and Tomoyo Hiirawagizawa, and their guardians would be joining them, as would be Mistress Sakura's fiancé. Yue rolled his eyes; the Li elders were still being so stubborn, refusing permission for the pair to wed just yet. The two were old enough, but Sakura was reluctant to make enemies of the Li clan, even though she had proven herself ten times over. Their latest reason for forbidding the marriage was that she'd failed to locate Clow Reed's stolen skull. He opened his eyes at this and sighed. The search continued, albeit with much less fervour than before simply because it seemed that the skulls had disappeared from the face of the earth. If it had been taken for trophy purposes, whoever had taken it wasn't even attempting to take any credit at all for it. The feeling that his former creator and his brother were being paraded as someone's trophy made Yue feel faintly ill at ease.

He rested his chin on his forearms and closed his eyes; feeling the cold, clean air run over him. The snow was falling softly; he could feel a few flakes brush against the sharp tip of his nose. 

The land was covered in the wonderful snow . . . the grey skies above were packed with swollen, snow-laden clouds. It reminded him always of the first time he'd seen this thing, this snow thing. As a mere child . . . Yue frowned as he tried to recall the memory . . . he was roughly the size of a seven year old human child when he first saw . . . but the memory, the true memory that presented itself to him was of a . . . baby, cuddled warm against . . .

_. . . His creator's, Papa's warm chest. Deep within the folds of his dark robes, papa's heart beat strongly. Beside him, jade green eyes peered at him, staring down inquisitively yet with some distance in them. The tall, fully-grown angel with the large white wings and black clothes was Eldest Brother, a cool, distant person who rarely held him. Papa held him the most, Papa was a kindly, handsome man . . . his magic flowed from him, warming everything around him. The little angel stared up into the smiling face, his tiny nose tickled by stray strands of inky black hair. He scrunched up his nose and wiggled, trying to make the hair stop tickling him so ruthlessly. _

_It was then he saw his very first white snow flake._

_He knew it was special because Papa opened his eyes and glanced up at the sky. Papa never opened his eyes unless it was really important; the little angel had learnt this fact. There was a dark grumble, as Older Brother, the strange four-legged creature with wings like Eldest Brother, shuddered, and lifted himself off the ground, coming into the little angel's line of sight. _

_"Moouuu!" He complained in Japanese, one of the many languages that papa was teaching all of them. "It's so cold, Clow! We'll freeze!!"_

_"Be quiet, Keroberos . . . and speak with more respect . . ." Eldest Brother murmured automatically in German, he looked at Papa, and continued in English, "It is snowing . . . is this your doing?"_

_"No . . ." Papa murmured with wonder in his wonderfully deep voice, "No, this is perfectly natural . . ." He closed his eyes again, and smiled down at the little angel, "My little moonbeam . . . see this?" _

_The little angel blinked, staring as more small white flakes drifted around them. Papa's magic keeping him warm, the deep voice filling his ears and mind, as papa spoke with his wonderful voice._

_"This is snow . . ." _

_Even though this was the coldest day, so cold it snowed . . . the tiny angel, surrounded by his older brothers and his wonderful creator, feeling nothing but loved and cherished, it was the warmest he could ever remember being . . ._

"Yue-kun!"

His eyes snapped open as Sakura's voice pierced his memories. He blinked as he came back to the present, and his mistress threw a blanket over his shoulders. He didn't need it, but he turned and saw that Sakura was shivering. Yue shook his head and pulled the blanket off him, and wrapped it around his mistress instead. "I'm sorry, I forgot . . ." he sighed and pulled the window closed, before turning to wrap the blanket tighter, "I forgot not everyone has the same tolerance for the cold as I do . . ."

"Oh! Oh!!" Kero's squeaky indignant voice cried out with pain, "You'll do it for her, but me? Your only brother in this world?! IIE!!" Keroberos fluttered into the room and transformed into his larger form, bowling Yue over and rolling with him on the floor. "I'll teach you!!" He roared warmly, as he mock-bite into Yue's shoulder. Sakura giggled happily, as the two brothers tussled on the floor. She ran as their mock-fight came rolling toward her, and large white feathers from both fluttered around her. "Ayyiiiiee!!" Sakura squealed as she jumped onto the bed, "Hoeeee!! Kero-chan!! Yue-kun!!" 

The two didn't pay her the slight bit of attention as they tussled, nor did they stop as the doorbell rang. 

Sakura chuckled once again as she climbed off her bed and ran down the stairs, "Matte!!" She called out to her guests, "Chotto matte ne!!"

Keroberos chuckled warmly, as he finally pinned down his brother down on the floor face down. His deep chuckle rumbled as he felt Yue's own body shudder with silent giggles. "Aah!! Keroberos!!" Yue wiggled as his brother's warm, wet tongue licked at his cheek. "That's just not nice!! Keroberos!!"

"I'll teach you for making me cold!!" The older lion grumbled good-naturally as he snuggled down, and lay heavily on Yue's slim frame, "Aaah . . ." he sighed loudly, "A Yue-pillow!! I've always wanted one!"

"Keroberos!!" Yue protested weakly, enjoying the warmth his brother's magic and weight expelled. "You're heavy!"

Kero's muzzle snuggled into the dip between Yue's neck and his shoulder, his breath – warm and smelling of the cookies they'd been baking for tonight – was affectionate against Yue's cheek. Yue groused sleepily, "Ne, Oniichan . . . you've eaten all our cookies!"

"Iie! I only ate the ones on the plate . . . the rest are still in the box!"

"Oniichan!" Yue groaned, "You ate the ones in the box . . ." he yawned, and closed his feline eyes, "You ate the ones in the box yesterday, greedy pig!"

"Ah . . ." Keroberos yawned, his huge jaws spreading widely, as he too allowed the warmth and the closeness of his youngest brother lull him to sleep, "Well, you can always make more . . ."

"Greedy pig, I say, pig . . ." Yue murmured once more, "you could out-eat . . . Yukito . . ."

Keroberos smiled, and said nothing more, his soft snores floating upward.

Blindly, he groped as the harsh wind blew unrelenting snow into his face. Where are you . . .? He ground out, old habits now resurfacing. Looking through some familiar windows, he saw warmth and security, but not the kind he searched for. He was weak and tired, begging for release from consciousness. In the window of one, he saw a small blonde boy; now at least twice as old as the last time he'd stood on the rooftop. His vision faded, shaken, unfocused. It threatened to topple him, //no!// he screamed mentally. Unfocused jade eyes closed briefly as he gathered his resolve. //I want to sleep, I want rest. . .//

Syaoran shook the snow out of his hair, and sighed as he glanced up. Deep rumbling snores floated down the stairs.

"Keroberos is sleeping?" 

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked as she took Tomoyo's cloak from her and hung it up. "Iie, I left him with Yue-kun, they were playing a moment ago!" She shrugged, and opened her arms to hug her best friend, "Tomoyo-chan!! So good to see you!!" 

The slim woman, with her long purple hair smiled, and hugged the honey blonde haired Card Mistress back. "Sakura-chan, genki as always!" She pulled back, and stroked the side of Sakura's cheek, "You haven't changed a bit, Sakura-chan!! You will always be that youthful ten-year-old magic girl!"

"NE!!" Sakura cried back, blushing, "I'm at least a little taller!!"

"Of course, you are taller, but inside . . ." Tomoyo smiled happily, and pulled out a video camera out of her purse, "You will always be my Cardcaptor Sakura!" 

"Hoe!!"

Eriol smiled at his wife's antics, and glanced over at his former life's descendant, Syaoran smiled fondly as he watched the scene. Neither woman had changed much; Tomoyo had retained her grace and elegance, and matured in her twentieth year, while Sakura had grown up to resemble her mother a lot, although had decided to keep the short style of her hair. Syaoran too had changed very little, growing only a little taller since their last major adventure. Eriol was slightly shorter than Syaoran, growing to be as tall as Clow had been in his own twenty-first year of age. The Little Wolf had now grown to be just a fraction of an inch taller that the powerful English magician. Eriol shrugged out of his magic robes' top layer, hanging his cloak next to his wife's and took off his shoes. 

"Eriol-kun?"

He blinked and looked up; Sakura's voice was filled with confusion, "Hai?"

"Where are your guardians?" 

Eriol frowned slightly, and glanced at Tomoyo. She looked out the open door behind them, and indeed . . . Ruby Moon, who'd been carrying her twin brother, had disappeared. Tomoyo stepped out as she was still wearing her boots, and called out quietly, "Ruby-chan, Spinel-kun?"

"HAI!!"

Tomoyo gasped as Ruby quickly hung down from the roof, Spinel hanging onto her hood for dear life, as the moon guardian grinned from her upside down position. The midnight blue false form of Spinel flapped his wings quickly, and flipped himself back into the hood, wrapping it tightly around his small frame. "Ruby!!" He chastised angrily, "It's too cold!! Will you just go through the door like any other normal creation!"

Eriol chuckled, as Ruby looked up at her brother and sighed, "Mou!! But that's boring!!" 

"Ruby Moon Hiirawagizawa!" Spinal complained, "It's too cold!!"

"Datte~!!"

Tomoyo shook her head, "Why do you want to go that way?" Ruby blinked and grinned down at them.

"Yue-san, and Kero-kun are up in Sakura-sama's room!! Can we go surprise them?!" Ruby put on her cutest, wide eyed expression and started to wheedle, "Can we? Can we?! Tomoyo-sama!!" 

"Don't you think you are asking the wrong person?" The pale woman smiled and turned slightly, glancing at her husband. "Eriol-kun?"

Eriol leant out the door, his bare feet getting a little chilled as he stared at his moon guardian. "Well?"

"Datte~!!" Ruby pouted and lifted one hand from her precarious position and pointed accusingly at Eriol, "He'll just make us wait forever!!" Tomoyo smiled, but said nothing. Ruby huffed and relented, "Eriol-sama!! Eriol-sama!! Can we?! Onegai? Eriol-sama~!!"

"I'll think about it." Eriol grinned, turned and walked away into the house. 

"MOU!! Tomoyo-sama!! Cruel!! He's being so very cruel!!" 

Tomoyo chuckled, "Eriol." She admonished quietly, "So cruel of you!" Eriol turned back, and smiled at her. He winked and nodded.  Sakura blinked, as Syaoran slipped his arm around her waist, and stole a brief kiss against her temple. Tomoyo smiled and turned to Ruby, "Go ahead, but take care of your brother, keep him warm, Ruby-chan!"

"Hai~!!" Ruby smiled happily, and flipped herself neatly back up to the roof, ignoring her brother's protests. Tomoyo shook her head, and stepped back into the house. "Sakura-chan . . . where is your brother?"

"Oniichan will be back soon; he's just collecting more food for tonight." Sakura smiled brightly, she clapped her hands, "I'll make some tea!! Ne, Syaoran-kun? Won't you help me?"

Syaoran nodded and glanced at Eriol who was helping his wife out of her boots, before grabbing his fiancée's outstretched hand and walking with her to the kitchen. Sakura's hand was warm, and squeezing his larger hand as she dragged him through to the kitchen. "Sakura-chan . . ." he murmured affectionately, her enthusiasm just as bright as the day he met her. Like her magic, Sakura shone brightly, and Syaoran . . . he started to laugh as she tried to pull him along faster . . . Syaoran loved her even more for it.

Panting, and dropping to a badly bruised knee, he gathered his strength again. He clutched his bleeding shoulder, trying to focus on the small house that was his safe goal. He could see the light from it spill out like a warm blanket. So close was he, and yet his body wanted nothing more than to lie in the freezing snow and die.  

He whimpered, spreading dirty white feathers once more. He struggled to fly to the next roof, pain trying to drag him down into the snow. So close, he was almost there, so close, he was almost there, so close, he was almost there . . . it became his life sustaining mantra, so close, almost there, close, almost, so, there. . .

Keroberos tightened his wings around his body, and his brother below him. 

They lay side-by-side now, face-to-face. Yue buried his face in the soft, warm fur that covered Keroberos' throat, as his older brother pressed his chin into the smooth, silken hair that covered Yue's head. Their soft snores floated and mingled in the room, the cards awoke and floated out of their book, gathering around their sleeping guardians to stand watch. The magical falloff from them caused warm gold and soft blue ripples to float away from them. The cards danced around them happily, glad so much magic was in the house and absorbed as much as they could. 

Ruby moon tapped at the window, drawing the cards' attention. 

The Power card and the Move floated over, and charmed the window latch, allowing Ruby to slide her fingers under the frame, and open it. Spinel flew through first, and shuddered, "Thank you!" He muttered to the cards, he glanced down at Keroberos as the large lion shivered, and opened his eyes groggily. Spinel smiled slightly, and shook himself as he transformed. He spread his wings, then faded them from reality and looked up at his sister, as she clambered through the window. Her dark red cloak – made of course, by their new mistress, Tomoyo – fell warmly around her thin frame, as she closed the window quickly. Ruby sighed, as she knelt by her brother and pulled her cloak around him. They looked down on their elder family, and smiled as Keroberos smiled somewhat sleepily, "Aah . . ." he murmured quietly so not to wake Yue, "You're here!" He smiled happily, "Welcome!"

"Arigato, 'niichan!" Ruby whispered excitedly, "Merry Christmas!!"

"Indeed, merry Christmas!" Spinel murmured, he leaned over and peered at Yue, "Cousin?" He glanced at Keroberos, "are the preparations almost ready?"

"Hmm. . ." Kero nodded, "Younger brother's been helping a lot. . . I think he just needs to sleep for a little while longer. . ."

Ruby yawned widely and leant against her brother, dipping her head to rest on his shoulder blade, "Ne, Suppi-kun. . . we have a few hours yet. . ." 

Spinel nodded, "Alright . . ." he looked at Keroberos as the lion gently extended one of his sharp claws, and gingerly pulled a long lock of white hair away from his brother's temple. The lion smiled happily, before lying down again. Spinel jerked his shoulder blade slightly, waking Ruby up enough to move them around Kero's back so Spinel could rest his head on the soft fleshy hind legs of Keroberos. Ruby yawned again, pulling her long red robe over her body, and her brothers as she curled around his back and began to sleep.

"Oyasumi. . ." the pink eyed being murmured quietly, "nasai. . ."

Touya looked up as he heard the window of his sister's room close.

A couple of the cards danced in the air like Christmas lights, showing off as they drank in the magical falloff the four guardians created as they snoozed. Shaking his head, he moved the large bag of groceries to balance on his hip, and raised his keys to the door. It swung open, and the serious features of the Chinese Gaki stared at him for a moment, before he step back. Syaoran took the grocery bag off him, as the Chinese boy nodded formally, "Welcome back . . . Kinomoto-san."

Touya pulled off the long, dark blue scarf that Sakura had knitted for him last Christmas, and nodded, "it's good to see you, Gaki . . . where is my monster of a sister?"

Syaoran shook his head, as Sakura cried out indignantly, "Sakura isn't a monster!!"

Touya shrugged and called back teasingly, "Only a monster could have such good hearing, with such big ears. . . the monster---"

Thunderous footsteps shook the floor, as Sakura stormed out his fist raised, "Sakura isn't a monster!!" She cried out irritably, "Cruel, Oniichan!! It's Christmas!!"

Touya smiled as his twenty-year-old sister dragged her husband-to-be back to the kitchen, asking quietly if she really was a monster. He popped his head around the living room, and caught Eriol and Tomoyo kissing under the mistletoe. Tomoyo held Eriol's glasses in her hand as he held her close to him, her face turned up toward him, she was standing on her tiptoes to reach his lips. Touya smiled with a touch of melancholy; their lives now were so almost complete, almost so comfortable. They'd come so far and at the cost of so much. He wished his father could be here . . . to see how much Sakura had grown, how they had been doing since his death some five years ago. 

Eriol opened his eyes slightly, and blinked as he caught sight of Touya in the door. Reluctantly, Eriol pulled away and waved at Sakura's older brother. Tomoyo slipped his glasses on to his nose, and turned to smile at the new entrant. Touya was struck once again at the similarities between her and his mother. Tomoyo's mother had taken so much time engineering Tomoyo's looks when she was younger, that it was hard not to see it. Tomoyo's long, dark violet tresses were tied loosely, and tumbled over her shoulder. Her clothes were all handmade, like the costumes she periodically sent Sakura, and looked very handsome on her. Her marriage to Eriol complimented her; her elegance and grace naturally shone through and Eriol looked incredibly happy to have a wife with whom he connected with not only in deportment, but also on a level of intelligence. Eriol too had matured physically a little, his similarities to Clow Reed starting to reveal themselves. Eriol's natural paleness combined with his unusual blue hair gave him very much Clow's distinctive look. Touya too developed some of characteristics of Clow beginning to come out in his physical appearance, Clow's final height, a towering six feet and an inch, was definitely in sight for the twenty-eight year old. 

He sighed and stretched out a hand toward Eriol, "Welcome, merry Christmas. . ."

"Merry Christmas," Eriol smiled warmly as Tomoyo stepped forward to let Touya hug her. "It's good to see you again, how is the practice?"

Touya smiled at this; he'd recently become a student doctor at a local practice, and he was entering his final year. Touya had agreed with Yukito, given their magical prowess and their reserves of money, that he really didn't have to work at all. Sakura held a few part time jobs and yet she, too, rarely had to work. They went to work to keep them grounded in reality, but the general idea was – as was traditional for any magicians of their level of power – to quietly disappear and live out their magically extended lives in the mansion Eriol, Tomoyo, their guardians and Syaoran lived in. Wei, Syaoran's butler, had returned to china to take care of Syaoran's immediate family at his request. The idea was that they would withdraw from society at large, and appear every few years as Clow did once. It would save explaining how they seemed to remain so youthful for so long.

Sakura and Touya weren't ready just yet to say goodbye to their lives, so Touya trained as a doctor, ensuring they'd not need to call on one unless it was for minor ailments, while Sakura concentrated on her magic. The card mistress was powerful, one of the most powerful magicians on the planet . . . and she lived with another. Touya's magic was only half of what Clow once had, and yet he was as powerful as his sister. 

Sakura brought in the tea tray, while Syaoran followed her with a plate of snacks. They sat side by side, a respectful distance between them. Syaoran's formal training prevented him from showing too much public affection, and Sakura was still a little shy about their relationship. While Eriol and Tomoyo's relationship was maturing beyond what was normal for their ages, Sakura and Syaoran's relationship was still cautiously courted and formal to the public. 

The group gathered around the small coffee table once more, and looked around. So many changes and yet . . . 

"Kaijuu, where are your guardians?"

"My cute little descendant, could you pass the cookies?"

"Sakura is not a monster!! Am I? Am I, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Hiirawagizawa!! I am not your cute little descendant!!"

"If a monster was half as cute as Sakura-chan, I'm sure I wouldn't be afraid!"

"To-To-Tomoyo-chan . . . you still like to film. . ."

"Well perhaps not my descendant anymore, but you are still a cute little wolf!"

"Are these cookies poisoned? I don't see the kaijuu eating any . . ."

"Hiirawagizawa!!" 

"Still so formal, little wolf?"

"Sakura's angry face is still so very cute!!"

"SAKURA IS NOT A MONSTER!!" 

. . . they were all still the same people. 

Yue yawned as downstairs erupted into laughter and talking. He blinked dozily in the darkness, and glanced at Sakura's clock. It was coming up to midnight; Christmas Eve was about to turn to Christmas Day. He smiled as he looked out the window and saw that the snow continued to fall lightly, there was much of it suggesting a small storm had been and gone. His older brother's snores stopped, as the lion opened his eyes, "Is it Christmas yet?" Asked the sleepy lion. Yue petted him, and shook his head. "No, not yet . . . a few more minutes . . ."

Ruby yawned as she stretched, and sat up, rubbing at her eye. "Shall we put in an appearance downstairs . . .?"

"We should . . . we haven't even said hello to Sakura-sama . . ." Spinel paused to yawn before continuing, "Come on . . . or there'll be no food left for us . . ."

"NANI?! CHOTTO MATTE!!" The other three held their ears as Keroberos suddenly disturbed the peace and barrelled down the stairs, "MATTE!! DON'T FORGET ME!! SAKURA~~!!"

Yue rolled his eyes as Spinel jogged out after him, he glanced at his younger cousin and smiled. She was a little crumpled, like he, after their impromptu nap. Ruby shrugged, "While we straighten our clothes, why not let Nakuru and the Snow Rabbit handle the welcome ceremony . . . "

Yue nodded, and grabbed her hand as they transformed together. 

Nakuru fluffed back her fringe and giggled happily, as Yukito straightened his glasses, "Nakuru-chan!"

"Yuki-kun~!!" Nakuru cried out happily, before leaping into the air and jumping onto Yukito. "Ne!! Did you miss me?! ne, ne?! Did you miss me?!" 

Yukito chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her to support some of her weigh, "Hai! Hai! I missed you a lot even though I only saw you a couple of weeks ago!!"

"Datte~~~!!!" Nakuru pouted and locked her legs around him so he had to carry her, "To me it's been ages, simply ages since I last saw you!! Did you miss me?!"

"Hai! I missed you, Imoto-chan!!"

"Ne~?" Nakuru blinked and pressed a finger against her bottom lip, "Why is it that you call me 'little sister' and Yue-chan-chan calls me 'younger cousin'?"

"Yue-chan-chan?" Yuki snorted and began to chuckle, "Better not let Yue-kun hear you say tha—" Yue's voice cut in, and Yuki's amber eyes darkened slightly, "Yue-chan-chan? Better never say it again."

"Yue-kun-kun is harsh. . ." Nakuru rolled her eyes, Yuki's eyes returned to the normal warm amber, as he carried her out of the room. "Ne, Yuki-kun-kun, down the stairs, before Kero-chan-chan eats all the food and gets Suppi-chan-chan drunk!!"

The snow crunched under him as he made the distance to the next roof. His safe haven was one more jumped roof, a few more steps away, he could make it . . . he could—

Pain ripped through him as he felt dark magic strain to pull him back. It whispered of soothing remedy to his anguish, but also of unspeakable fatality if he should continue. He shuddered, and ground out a weak prayer.

". . . Yue . . ."

He panted, whimpered, the name of his brother slipping out as a whisper. A warm heady rush of magic, a different kind of magic drew him like a beacon of light. It was so warm, and he was so close . . . almost there . . . so close, almost there . . .

The safe haven was protected by a powerful magic, and he was almost there. Almost drunken with the potent enchantment, he swayed and fell from the roof, landing hard on his bleeding shoulder. The snow that looked so soft, failed to catch him. He lay there for a moment, alone, crying out as hot tears prickled at his bloodshot eyes.

He couldn't give up . . . not when he was so close to harbour. 

Eriol sighed as he and Sakura sat together, just talking of meaningless things, catching up. 

He'd put the mansion under a powerful spell, as Clow had done with the Reed mansion. For every week that passed with the Tsukimine Mansion, a day passed here for Sakura and Tomoeda. He petted Spinel's smaller form as the midnight blue cat dozed in his lap again. The two sun guardians were very sleepy, Keroberos didn't even have the energy to try and get Spinel drunk on the sweet they had had. Yukito and Touya had had to carry the large cat up the stairs, before they too retired to bed. 

Tomoyo, Nakuru and Syaoran were in the kitchen cleaning up, while Eriol sat with his fellow magician. Since the . . . he frowned slightly. . . unpleasantness four years before, a mystery they had yet to solve, the magic group had bonded a lot, getting used to Clow's absence completely. 

Sakura yawned widely, the hour now pushing past two in the morning. "Gomen, ne?" She blushed slightly, "It's getting a bit late, Eriol-kun . . ."

"Iie . . ." he reached over and patted her hand, "I suggest we retire now . . . they are done . . ."

"Hoe?"

"Sakura-chan, you have a lot to learn about prying into other people's thoughts . . ." Eriol chuckled as Tomoyo walked out of the kitchen, and clapped her hands, "We're finished!"

Nakuru pulled off her apron, and stretched. "Time to go to bed!! Come on Suppi-chan!!" Spinel rolled his eyes groggily, wishing a quiet goodnight to everyone before floating out the room. Ruby grinned wickedly as she spun, transformed into her full form and ran to the doorway, "Oh . . . Touya-kun~!! I need somewhere to sleep!!!" 

A white robed arm shot out, and blocked the doorway. Yue appeared and glared at his younger cousin, "You'd think after *ten* years, Ruby Moon Hiirawagizawa, you'd learnt—"

"Hai, hai!" Ruby grinned and planted a loud kiss on her older cousin's cheek, before running off, "Suppi-chan~~!! Matte~!!"

Yue looked up at the ceiling, before sighing. "Sakura-sa—" he paused at her look, before correcting himself, "Sakura-chan . . . your brother wishes for you to retire for the night, and for me to wish our guests a good night, and to guide them to their room." 

Syaoran walked out of the kitchen, drying his hands. He paused, before walking over to Sakura's side, and murmuring quietly his intension to sleep on the downstairs sofa. 

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura protested instantly, "You can't sleep there . . . my bed is perfectly capable of supporting the both of us. . . if not, we'll just have the Create Card make us a bed large enough!"

"With an offer like that, my cute, little wolf. . ." Eriol teased, "You'd be hard put to refuse!" He smirked at Syaoran's glare, and offered his arm to Tomoyo, "Miss Tomoyo. Please?"

Tomoyo smiled warmly, and nodded to her husband, before walking over to embrace her best friend, "Sakura-chan, oyasumi nasai."

"Hai!" Sakura enthused, "You too! I hope the bed is comfortable enough!"

"I'm sure it will be!" She smiled at Syaoran as she wished him good night, and Eriol nodded to them. They followed Yue out, while Sakura dragged at Syaoran's arm. "Sakura!" He protested, "It's not—" he was cut off as she looked at him with a withering look. Syaoran sighed, "There is no way I'll win this, will I?"

"Iie!!" Sakura grinned, "Let's go!!"

He rolled from his side to his front and shuffled until he was on his hands and knees. Taking a few deep breaths, he crawled as best he could. Slowly, painfully, he tried to lift his head for long enough. The gate to his haven was just before him. He paused, summoning his strength again. Damned he would be, if he crawled on hand and knee though that gate. His dignity demanded it, as a creation of Clow Reed. Clow Reed, the Master Magician. The creator of the Clow Cards. He swore quietly, as he dragged his weary body up, trying his hardest to stand tall and walk.

He could barely lift his feet, his spine screamed, and he whimpered with every breath he took.

He wished, and almost prayed that someone would come out of the house and take the burden of movement away from him. So close now . . . he wrapped a hand around the cold metal bars of the gate to swing it open. The Christmas laurel that hung there merrily pricked his skin, almost forbidding him to enter. He pushed again, and the gate swung open. 

"Please. . ."

As Sakura pulled Syaoran to her room, Eriol placed his glasses on the stand beside his bed, and looked over as his wife brushed out her long hair. He climbed back out of bed, and went to stand behind her. "I love you. . ." 

Tomoyo blinked at Eriol's voice as he whispered in her ear, "Hiirawagizawa . . ." Tomoyo blushed, and touched his hand, "I love you too." Eriol straightened and slowly took the brush from her hands and brushed her hair for her. Tomoyo closed her eyes, and sucked in her bottom lip as the gentle ministrations of Eriol's hands worked warm magic on her. She felt his magic filter in to her shoulders loosening the muscles there; it warmed her clothing slightly, and made her feel very drowsy. 

He smiled as he felt his wife's shoulders droop under his hands. 

"Tomoyo . . ." he whispered, and was responded to with a soft groan. "Are you sleeping, my dear?"

He glanced in the mirror and saw his wife smile sleepily. Eriol nodded, and quietly reached down to pick her up. He placed her in their bed, tucking the blankets around her tightly. He spent a few more moments; just stroking the long purple locks of hair before he rose again, and picked up his glasses. 

Eriol walked to the door, and glanced back on his sleeping wife. She smiled happily as her breathing evened out, and she fell into a deeper sleep. 

He walked down the stairs quietly, and entered the living room where his guardians were. Ruby and Spinel were sat on the sofa, talking quietly in their full forms. "Maa, maa . . ." Eriol sighed as he entered, "Why are you two still up? It's late!" 

Ruby blinked, and smiled at her master, "Gomen ne? We were just saying how nice it was to be back in Japan . . ." she winked at Eriol, "Tomoyo-sama looks very happy, doesn't she?"  

Smiling ruefully, Eriol nodded, "I noticed . . . we're staying here for the rest of our lives . . ." he stared at them both, "You are sure you won't miss England too much?"

"Will you?" Spinel sat up, and tilted his head, "Keroberos and Yue; our family is here . . . but your roots are in England. Are you going to miss it very much?"

"With Tomoyo and you two?" Eriol knelt by the sofa and looked up at his guardians, "No, no I won't . . ." 

"Good."

The three looked up at the soft voice and found Tomoyo standing in the doorway, she smiled, and walked forward. Sinking to kneel on the floor near Eriol, Tomoyo raised her hand and brushed Eriol's long bangs back from his eyes. She leant forward to claim a small kiss from him. Spinel rolled his eyes again as his sister clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle her squeal. "You never have gotten over the fact they married, did you?" 

Ruby's eyes shone with delight as Eriol shuffled forward to deepen the kiss. A muffled, "Kawaii!!" Issued from the rose coloured haired guardian.

He couldn't call out any louder, his weak body failed him, his dirty, soiled wings began to constrict about his body, trying to protect him from the freezing cold, trying to usher him gently back to death's waiting arms. Stumbling, he fell forward again, the snow raw and unforgiving as it bit into his palms.

"I can eat that . . . it looks tasty . . ."

Yukito yawned as he rolled over and leant his head on Touya's bare chest. Touya smiled in his sleep, and raised a hand to thread his fingers into the dapple-grey locks. He sighed and turned his face toward the window, the moon was disappearing behind the clouds, making Yue shift uneasily in his sleep. This translated to Yukito becoming very hungry, and dreaming of food. Touya smiled a little in his sleep, knowing that in a moment Yukito would get up and think about making something to eat. 

He opened an eye and glanced at the bedside table; glad he'd had the foresight to bring up a few snacks just in case. 

During the few years that Yukito, and his other half Yue, had been in their home, Touya had come to know the being very well. After the attack of Mystrasa, Yukito had moved from his room, into Touya's claiming that he and Yue had come to a decision that even though it would bother Touya every once in a while – whenever Yue was called to stand by Sakura's side – the two wanted to sleep with him on a more permanent basis. For this Touya was happy; it meant that he could be close to the being he loved, whether he was in his guardian form as the handsome, graceful and elegant Yue or if he was in his human form as the adorable, kind hearted and endearing Yukito.  

Yukito chuckled in his sleep, and Yue's voice filtered through, "If I were to eat this much, I wouldn't fit into my robes any more . . ." 

Touya could never really tell if they were one person with two sides that were aware of each other, or two people, trapped in one form. To be honest, he didn't really want to try and figure it out. Touya was happy with both; one could be soft, the other sensual. Yuki was at his most attractive during the day; he was an attentive lover, and just like as they had been during their time at school, Touya and Yuki were the best of friends. Their relationship was built on that, built on the trust they shared, and Touya was glad to know that the foundations were still strong. Even though Yue had nearly suppressed Yukito when the psychosis of Ying Yang Syndrome had taken over the normally rational guardian. Yue was reluctant to talk about it, but Touya had a suspicion that Yue and Hei-ying had been more to each other. Eriol had come to him, some time after the attack, and had told him that when he had been sealing the rooms on the fourth floor of the Reed Mansion, Eriol had found evidence of sexual activity in Mystrasa's bed. Both auras of the angels had been there, with Mystrasa, with each other, Eriol didn't know. Touya knew . . . 

"We'll share it then . . . ne? Yue-kun?" Yukito replied sleepily, he scrunched up his nose. "You eat that . . . and I'll have this piece!"

. . . Touya smiled as he listened to the exchange between the two. He didn't want to think about what could have happened between Hei-ying and Yue, and Yue wasn't about to tell him much more. Yue was trying to forget what had happened then, choosing to believe that his brother was someone to be pitied rather than despised. Touya didn't know why Yue didn't want to accept that his older brother was fatally flawed, but Keroberos often hinted that Yue wore rose tinted glasses when it came to his past. 

The parts of his past that were too hard to handle, like the fact that Hei-ying tried to kill him, seduced him into betraying his friends and family, even that Clow was as human as the rest of them, that he wasn't always the wonderful man that everyone had to remember him as . . .

"What right do I have . . ." Yue yawned, and snuggled down tighter to Touya, "To call Oniichan a greedy pig, when you can eat more than him?"

Touya stared as shadows chased across the ceiling, imaginary worlds racing over each other, crashing, fading, and being born all in several instances. He had to agree; the same cheerful outlook that Yuki had to like, the refusal to see any bad in anyone, seemed to extend to Yue as well when it came to Clow Reed. Touya sighed and lifted a hand to stroke the back of Yuki's head, he felt his eyelids growing heavy. The search for the missing remains, Clow Reed's skull and the skulls of the two others, had all but been given up, their lives were beginning to settle, the relationships that had suffered, the relationships that had almost died, and the relationships that had been born since Mystrasa's attack had stabilised, they weren't perfect, no . . . everyone had problems, but their lives were settling down well enough. 

"Eat! Yue, it's healthy to eat so much!"

"You two . . ." Touya closed his eyes again, even though their lives had settled down now, there really wasn't any normalcy to make the days boring.

Somebody . . .

The very last of his strength finally gave out, as he reached forward to touch the porch's step. "Somebody please . . . save me. . ."

Bloodshot jade eyes fluttered shut . . .

"Sakura-chan . . ." Syaoran leant over his love and kissed her nose, "Oyasumi nasai. . ."

"Oya—" Sakura broke off to yawn, "Oyasumi Nasai, Syaoran-kun . . ." She turned over in the circle of his arms to press her back against his chest, and smiled as he leant his chin on her shoulder. Sakura peeked an eye open and smiled as Keroberos fluttered into his drawer, "Oyasumi nasai Kero-chan!"

"Hai! Oyasumi nasai, Sakura . . . Gaki, you too!"

"Eh!" Syaoran sleepily growled, "I'm twenty-one and you still call me a brat . . . stuffed animal!"

"Nani Gaki?!"

"Ne, ne. . ." Sakura chuckled quietly, "do I have to ask the sleep card to quiet you both down?"

"Iie, iie, ne Sakura, sweet dreams!" Kero's drawer shut as the small golden bear guardian went to sleep. Syaoran huffed one more time, before shifting slightly. It wasn't long until Sakura heard his soft snores compete with Kero's. Sakura giggled once more, before she too succumbed to sleep.

She didn't notice though, that the Sakura book had opened, and the cards were shifting uneasily. They could sense something . . . the four element, ruling cards of the pack floated up, and went to the window. The snow was still falling, covering everything so thickly it was almost as if the snow card had been allowed to be set loose upon the small town of Tomoeda. The four cards floated by the window, worry emanating from them. Silently, the four considered waking their mistress . . . to see if she could feel the strange, weak aura that was lying nearby.

It was getting weaker, and would disappear soon. 

The four waited a moment longer to see if the aura would move again before deciding it was probably a ghost . . . 

The Sakura cards floated back into place, and quietened down. The glow from the book ceased, and the cards went back to sleep again. 

Outside, as the snow fell softly . . . 

No one within the warm Kinomoto Household could possibly know of the dying messenger, who brought with him news of deeds darker than death . . . and tales beyond belief . . .

As he struggled to reach the front door, his body weakening with every painful step, little did this dark angel know that from a distance the pale, old yellow eyes of T'alas watched with some interest. The Third Dragon, T'alas of the four Winds, had succeeded where his brother, T'alusia had failed. He'd managed to track the escaped creation, following him to Japan, as their master waited in China for news. He hissed to himself, his old eyes watching as the dark angel staggered to the doorway and collapsed. T'alas rolled, and sighed, allowing his body to drift with the breezes. The dark angel was dying, he didn't even have magic enough to support his existence for the next hour, let alone survive the night. 

The old dragon ascended above the clouds, and rested on the clouds. There was no need for him to bring the angel back, and waste his strength. The other creation would be dead before the night was out. He rested upon the clouds for a moment more, before getting up, and preparing his old body for the journey back to China. He sighed, and allowed the winds to carry him.

 He would have news for his master, not good news, as the Lord Maduokai had wanted the newly re-created guardian of Clow to serve under him, but not bad news either . . .

-----------------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

Yue: [looks around DrM's bedroom] Holy mother of . . . DrM!!

DrM: [muffled somewhat] What?

Yue: [clambers over all the stuff DrM has in her room] What in the hell is all of this crap?!

DrM: Hey! Don't call my junk crap!! Sure, I just stockpile stuff, but what can I say? I've just moved back to my parents' house for the summer . . . [grins happily] I'm back on msn messenger . . . I have 24 hour internet access . . . I have three months to finish my fanfics . . .

Yue: hence this?

DrM: [damnwell about to float with happiness] hence this . . .

Yue: [shakes head] please, just R&R. . .


	5. Gift Uninvited

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Four: Gift Uninvited 

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!! EVERYBODY UP!! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!"

Cocooned warmly in a tumble of blankets, his lover's arms and a few of Yue's loose long feathers, Yukito smiled sleepily as his brother's voice pierced his fragile sleep. The snow rabbit snuggled closer to his lover and breathed a happy sigh, knowing it was scant, precious moments before Keroberos would come barrelling in to wake his little brother. Touya groaned and wrapped his arms around Yuki tighter, "He's your brother . . . can't you do anything about him?"

"I wouldn't change him for the world, To-ya . . ." Yukito chuckled and raised his body up, so he could lean on Touya's broad chest; he stared down at the other man lovingly. Now, Yue had removed the sight defect from his eyes, Yukito didn't really need his glasses but out of habit and to lessen the amount of explaining he'd have to do, kept them on anyway. The dark haired man sighed deeply and reached up to cup his hand around the back of Yuki's dapple-grey hair, "I know you wouldn't . . . but . . ." He shook his head, allowing a rare smile to grace his lips, "It's not often I wake up to such a wonderful sight . . ."

They kissed softly. 

As they pulled apart, Touya fell back to the pillow, while Yuki cushioned his head against Touya's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Aishiteru, To-ya." 

"Yuki . . ." The dark haired magician sighed, and held his lover tightly, "Aishiteru. Happy birthday . . ." Touya shook his head, as the sounds of Keroberos barrelled out of Sakura's room, and Syaoran swearing heatedly (and inventively) at him in Chinese woke the entire household. Downstairs, Ruby Moon yelled up an answering call of: "Eriol-sama~!! Can I open our presents?! Eriol-sama~!!" 

"COME ON!! EVERYONE OUT OF BED!! THAT MEANS YOU TOO!!" 

Hurricane Keroberos hit the next room, Tomoyo's quiet voice calling out a startled cry. There was unusual silence, before Tomoyo quickly called out, "Eriol!! What have you done with Keroberos?!"

Touya rolled his eyes, as Eriol replied quietly, too quietly for him to hear. But as a rift in the fabric of reality opened up above them, it soon became very apparent what Eriol had down with Keroberos.

"*Hiirawagizawa*!!" 

Touya suddenly yelled as a very surprised Keroberos landed right on their bed. "Huh . . .?" The lion blinked, stunned by his sudden teleportation before bouncing up and down on the bed. "IT'S CHRISTMAS LITTLE ONE!! RISE AND SHINE!! CHRISTMAS TIME!!"

Tsukishiro Yukito giggled happily, as he reached out to grab his brother, stilling the excited lion. "Arigato, arigato Keroberos!!" The lion gazed fondly at his brother before licking the snow rabbit's face, "Merry Christmas, little one . . . and happy birthday!" 

Yukito smiled as he pulled off Kero's cumbersome helmet so he could hold the lion closer, "Thank you . . ." Burying his face into warm, soft fur, he hugged Keroberos tightly, "Thank you, Oniichan!"

The lion wrapped his paws around Yukito's back as best he could and glanced at Touya imperiously. "Well . . ." The lion said gruffly, "What are you still doing here? Where's our breakfast?!"

"What am I? Your butler . . .?" Touya rolled his eyes, slipping out of bed, "Yue . . . Return to your guardian form . . ." He murmured quietly, while he pulled on his slippers and dressing gown. There was a bright flash of blue, and a large white feather floated over his shoulder. Touya turned and smiled, "Happy birthday, Yue . . . Merry Christmas, lover mine." 

The moon guardian raised an unimpressed eyebrow, as his armful of Keroberos squirmed to lick his face. Touya got up and went to the window-doors to look out. The sky was clear; it was a rich, crisp bluish grey and the white fluffy clouds looked so very soft. The roofs of all the neighbouring houses were covered in at least a foot's worth of snow. Touya slid the door open, to step out on the little balcony that was over their extended garden. He looked around; their car was similarly buried with snow. The front path . . . everything was covered with so much snow . . . 

And he would have missed it, had the feathers been their normal pure white. 

Touya blinked as he stared down . . . the dirty white feathers were almost grey against the purity of the snow. They, like everything else were covered with snow, and the being they belonged to . . . 

"Get Sakura . . . and Eriol . . ."

Keroberos blinked as Yue pushed him away and frowned at Touya, "Pardon me?"

"I said get Sakura and Eriol . . . *Hurry*!!" Touya threw his arm out, his key and the blanket on the bed flew across the room to him. The two Guardians were dragged out of bed and deposited on the floor, as Touya grabbed the items, and jumped out of the window. Keroberos ran out the room, as Yue ran over to the window and looked at Touya as he climbed down the side of the house. His gaze fixed on the front path of the house. A small startled noise escaped Yue's lips, the cold misting his breath as it left his lips. 

"What . . . how did . . .?"

A black haired angel, with the same face as Yue, lay face down with his pale, almost blue lips kissing the pure snow that cushioned him.

"I . . . I don't understand . . ."

Several centuries ago, Clow Reed had created a mistake . . . a guardian who was driven insane and had to be sealed to protect the two others from him and the effect of the dark curses upon him.

"How . . . how did this . . . happen?"

Nearly fifty years ago, Clow Reed's other fatal mistake, a third reincarnation, tracked down and rediscovered this cursed guardian and released him upon the world as part of her revenge on Clow and all his descendants, all his beneficiaries of his magic.

"I . . . How could he . . .?"

Eight years ago, this cursed soul was the cause of Kinomoto Fujitaka's death, and played a major part of the mass murder of all of the Reed line of magicians in England and the rest of Europe. This damned angel had lead Clow's second reincarnation, Fujitaka, to edge of a pond and watched as the third reincarnation's Sun Guardian, a fearsome and not to mention hideous dragon, drowned him.  

"I don't understand this . . ."

Four years ago, in a battle for the Sakura cards, that almost cost the card mistress her life and the lives of her friends . . . which claimed the life of the Li Clan Head's cousin and closest relative, Li Meilin . . . This fallen angel sacrificed himself to protect the younger guardians he'd once desired to kill. His younger brothers, and his even younger cousins watched him as his body disintegrated, finally putting to rest a mistake and peace to a much troubled soul. 

"Quickly, fetch some warm water . . . blankets . . . Quickly!"

Three years ago, this wretched soul's grave was disturbed and from it, someone unknown had stolen the skull from Hei-ying's resting body.

"Warm! Not boiling, but very warm!! Hurry!!"

Five minutes ago, this cursed angel was found, half frozen and almost dead on the path leading to the Kinomoto Household. How he'd come back to life was a mystery, why he now lay dying was unknown and why he'd returned to this household . . . a secret soon to be revealed.

Tomoyo took Ruby's cloak from her and wrapped it around Hei-ying, his lips were still blue, and he wasn't even warm enough to shiver. "He'll die if we don't warm him now . . ." She looked at Sakura, "Can you do anything?" 

Sakura stared at Hei-ying for a moment before extending her hand. She called forth her staff and raised her hand. The Sakura cards floated rapidly down the stairs and into her waiting hand. Syaoran brought in another blanket as Keroberos pulled a pillow in from the living room. 

Half running, half flying, Yue came down the stairs with a change of clothing, Yukito's warmest jumpers and trousers. Eriol sighed and knelt by his wife, "We should try and get him to change form . . ." He reached over and touched Hei-ying's left ear, the puncture hole from his earring still there. "But he hasn't got a false form anymore . . . it will take me a few days to create one . . ." Eriol paused and closed his eyes, "If I still remember the spell." He stood and dusted off his hands, "I'll need to fetch some of Clow's old spell books from my library."

"What is he doing here?!" Ruby choked slightly, her eyes wide as she pulled at the clasps that held Hei-ying's clothing on. "He died . . . We *buried* him!" She pulled back some of the black matted hair, to reveal the angel's eyes, "Two eyes?! Two ears?!" She shook her head hard, not really understanding, and giving voice to the confusion felt throughout the room, "This guy left this world with one of both! What kind of Christmas present is this?!"

Tapping her Windy card, Sakura commanded it to carry Hei-ying into the living room. The group followed him, as they shot nervous glances between each other. Hei-ying's skull had been one of those stolen from the Reed Mansion's small graveyard and now, here was the dead angel . . . barely alive, and clearly having been perhaps beaten to hell and back.

For what possible purpose had Hei-ying returned from the dead?

The house was very quiet. While everywhere else households celebrated the holiday, the one on the corner of the street remained still. As soon as the had Hei-ying in bed, tucked up in their attempts to get him warmer, Eriol left with Spinel to fetch his magic books, Touya, Tomoyo and Nakuru went out to by food, medicine, and material to repair the damaged clothing of Hei-ying. Though at this moment it was unclear if he'd be needing them long. Syaoran and Sakura consulted the cards, while Keroberos and Yue took care of their eldest brother. 

Yue pressed a warm, damp cloth against Hei-ying's forehead. Hei-ying still wasn't shivering, which was a bad sign. It meant his body had passed the point of trying to keep warm – it simply couldn't generate enough energy – and was desperately conserving it, in a state of hibernation, a last ditch attempt to stave off a sleep from which there was no return. Yue bit his lip, Hei-ying was dying again; this time, a slow, creeping death. His own sleep was killing him. 

It was clear he didn't have enough magic, that he needed a master to feed him magic as Sakura did for himself and Keroberos, Eriol for Ruby and Spinel. But neither could take him on or they would risk setting the Law of Triad into motion between the creations of Clow Reed, the master magician. As trained as he was to handle magic, Touya wasn't yet experienced enough to take on a fully-grown guardian, his magic would be completely drained within days without help to steady the relationship between guard and master. 

Yue shook his head. Hei-ying had come here seeking their help. But why? How did he manage to come back to life, when all links to his existence had been severed?

"Doushite, Oniichan?" 

Yue murmured thoughtfully, there was a growl from the kitchen as Keroberos pushed the door open, and padded over. A kettle of boiling water hung from his jaws. Yue took it and poured some in the bowl by his knees.  There was a long uncomfortable silence between the two brothers, before Yue tutted quietly. 

"Keroberos . . ."

"Iie. I don't want to hear it." Keroberos snapped irritably, "You will not be transferring any amount of power to this . . . this *monster*!" The lion snapped and spat angrily, "If Sakura wasn't so kind hearted, she'd see that this was a perfect opportunity to rid us of—"

"Keroberos!" Yue spun and turned to him, his use of English a clear sign of his astonishment, "Didn't Elder brother prove to us that he—"

"No!" Keroberos snapped back, his own English tainted by his Osaka accent. The lion paced around restlessly, "I don't like this . . . his skull gets stolen, and now four years later, he returns?! Absurd! This is clearly some kind of trick—"

"We watched him *die*!!" Yue waved his hand in a sharp motion, frustrated at his older brother's stubbornness, "He *sacrificed* himself—"

Angered now, Keroberos' wings extended and flapped irritably, "You think of him in too bright a light, younger brother!" The elder lion snarled, his voice taking on a formal tone, urging Yue to trust the judgement of his protective older brother. "Must I remind you, Little One . . . this THING tried to kill you!!" He raised his sharp claws and pointed them toward Hei-ying's still pale face. "It would be best to slit his throat now, and ask questions later!!"

Yue stood instantly, his fists clenched at his sides. "Keroberos, do not take this tone!!" He felt Keroberos' magic flare with his anger, and his own respond. "You should not harm him until we discover his reasons for returning to us!" The angel's eyes narrowed, "He may lead us to our creator, he may lead us to Clow Reed! We must wait until he can tell us why he's here!"

"Isn't it clear?!" Keroberos shouted, a tiny waver of fear creeping into the lion's fury-filled voice, "He's come back to haunt us!! He'll try and take you from me, as he did before!!" The lion snarled ferociously, "I swore I'd die before I allowed it to happen again!! By Clow's word, I shall not allow harm to come to you again!!"

The white haired angel's face crumpled, all his anger draining out of him as he fell to his knees and wrapped his arms about his older brother's fur covered body, "Oniichan!" Yue pulled back, and stared at Keroberos for a very long moment. He closed his eyes for a moment, and dipped his head. They had to get past this. Somehow, Yue had to keep Keroberos from killing Hei-ying. "For Clow's sake . . . Keroberos, please . . ." Yue began but trailed off, "I know you are angry. . ."

"Angry?!" Keroberos scoffed hard, "Am I angry?" He laughed scornfully, his warm features taking on a dark glower, "This thing, you so affectionately call 'Oniichan' tried to kill you, he tried to kill Sakura and steal her cards . . . Why on earth do you choose to remember him as such a *wonderful* person when he spent his whole life making everyone else's hell?!"

"But he didn't!" Yue snapped, he breathed out hard, before trying to form his words in a way Keroberos could understand. "Keroberos . . . before you and I were born, there is a ten year gap between our creation and Hei-ying's . . ." Yue stared at him, "I want to know what happened to make Hei-ying like this . . ." 

Keroberos blinked as Yue's eyes flushed slightly with a different colour. His mouth fell slightly open, as amber seeped into the tinges of Yue's eyes. He'd seen it happen before, but only when the angel was in Yuki's form, he'd assumed it flowed only one way but this . . . he gaped at Yue, as the angel began to speak in that one voice, that one voice that he kept hidden from everyone. 

"I need to know, Keroberos . . . Why am I like this . . .?"

"I told you, Hei-ying tried to—"

"Kill me? Yes, this I know, but why? Why did he try to kill me . . .?"

"Because he hated us."

"Why?" Yue asked quietly, "We've got to understand it, Keroberos . . ." Yue's shoulders dipped, as he raised his hands to Keroberos' muzzle, "I know, oh, I know . . . you want to protect me, you don't want to lose me . . . but Keroberos . . . please . . ." Yue shook his older brother slightly, "Trust that I am strong enough to take it. I'm not a child, Keroberos . . ."

"But I promised . . ."

Yue's lips turned up in a slight smile, "You're so strong, Keroberos . . . I know you always will protect me."

Keroberos sighed, and glanced at Hei-ying. "I suppose it won't hurt to . . . give him a little boost . . . until he can tell us, how he came to be . . ."

Keroberos glared at Hei-ying's pale face. The jade eyes he knew so well were open a crack . . . and the blue-tinged lips parted. The angel began to shake and shiver, as the small amount of magic the two brothers had let off infused his dying body with enough to try and warm himself. 

Hours later, as the darkness crept in, Eriol returned on Spinel's back. They landed quickly, and entered the house carrying several books and an enchanted piece of jade. He sighed heavily as he placed it on the table, and shrugged out of his cloaks. "Any change?" 

"He's shivering . . ." Tomoyo placed a hot cup of soup before her husband and picked up his cloaks, "That's a good sign, because he's warming up . . ." She sighed and brushed a long lock of violet hair back, "Hopefully his magic will be enough to stave off any affects of frostbite . . ."

Eriol nodded and opened a book. "I'll be able to create his false form in a couple of days, the spell needs careful tailoring and . . ." He tapped the page, "I haven't done one of these for a very long time . . . it's quite a bit more complicated, now that I don't have all of Clow's memories to help me cast them."

Peering over the pages with deep concentration, Syaoran nodded. "The cards could tell us nothing . . . nothing that makes any sense now." He glanced at Sakura, her face still held a look of confusion. "All the cards say," Syaoran continued, "Is that we must be wary of water . . . and of time . . . the past is coming back to us." He shook his head, "But they can tell us no more . . ."

"Kyree can't be returning . . . can she?" Sakura spoke up; she glanced at her brother, "Clow? Is it Clow? . . . do you feel him?"

Touya shook his head as Eriol looked at her, "No . . . the guardians would have felt him a long time before we would . . ." He looked up at Nakuru as she walking past with her arms filled with material. "They would feel his presence in the world . . . and yet, they haven't." He looked at Sakura; "Spinel's found a way for all three of us to support Hei-ying until we can find a real master for him."

"Honto?" Sakura moved, and sat beside Eriol as he opened another book. She looked down at the ancient notes, all of which were in archaic English. Keroberos landed on the table nearby in his smaller form and looked over the notes with a critical eye, "Clow's handwriting never did improve . . . still illegible . . ."

Yue shook his head, as he moved closer and sat on the other side of Eriol. He pointed at the diagrams, "This is the transfer method." He looked at Eriol critically, "You will transfer a little magic from each of you to Hei-ying to allow him to support himself?"

"The only obstacle I see with the transfer . . ." Eriol nodded at Yue's understanding and continued, "Is the Obedience Spell Clow placed on his soul. . ."

He picked up another book, even older than the first, and opened it at the bookmark. Complex diagrams surrounded by Clow's terrible handwriting lay on the page as Eriol traced each line with a finger. The spell looked very simple at first, but if one chose to look a little closer, chose to consider the consequences of such a spell on a creation, one would instantly realise the horrifying penalty that would be reaped from such a spell. The creation would be chained to the person the spell was cast to serve for magic, for life . . . for all eternity. If the spell was cast with far too much emphasis placed upon it, if it held too much potency over the soul of the creation, that creation would face a life of serving a master's every single whim. It was meant to be a spell for the most dexterous of masters. Those who could recognised every command from their mouths - no matter how jokingly put, nor how absently spoken - would be taken as gospel. It was widely accepted, even by most master magicians, that the spell was for only the most disciplined . . . and that the level of discipline needed was unattainable by all. From Clow Reed, master magician, to this new generation, it was now known the Obedience Spell was far too unpredictable, that no creation deserved to be striped of free will and that no magician, no matter how powerful, experienced or steadfast of heart, could possibly be capable of managing a creation under that spell.

Eriol sighed slowly, taking the words on the page in. //this spell . . .// His lavender grey eyes narrowed, // This spell is wrong . . . it is a curse upon us all!// 

"Eriol-sama?" Spinel's murmured reminder shook Eriol from his musings, and the blue haired magician continued. 

"This spell binds Hei-ying. During his first lifetime, preparing to be the Advisor of the Clow, it chained Hei-ying to Clow Reed's every command." He saw Sakura glance out the corner of her eye to her own guardians causing Eriol to add quickly, "But after seeing the affect it had on Hei-ying, Clow never used it again for any of his creations. For us however, it does mean that Hei-ying does not possess the mental capability to exercise his own free will . . . it would be impossible for Hei-ying to take orders from all of us, we must establish from whom he takes his orders . . ." He looked at Touya who frowned at him, "I know you don't have much practice at keeping a guardian, but since both Sakura and I already have two." Eriol paused again and glanced at Syaoran, "Tomoyo is too weak magically to even consider a guardian, although I'm sure my cute little descendant would likely be able to take him on, with a lot of assistance . . ." Eriol shook his head, "But Touya is closer to Clow in age and appearance and therefore more likely to command Hei-ying's co-operation. I doubt he'd be able to overcome his feelings of being ordered about by someone he thinks of as a child."

"I . . ." Touya shook his head as he spoke reluctantly, "I don't want to be his master . . . I have no desire to have a being serve me."

"Oniichan, you don't have to be a master, you can be their friend!" Sakura smiled warmly, "I know it sounds a little silly, but honestly Yue and Keroberos are free to be who they want to . . . I'm sure Hei-ying would be an excellent friend to you if we can help him." Sakura's eyes took on a serious glint, "He has had enough of a life where no one was there for him . . . it is a new beginning for him, we should try to make things right for him." She glanced at Spinel as the small cat landed, "But what exactly are we going to do to Hei-ying, until Oniichan is ready?"

Spinel Sun nodded, padding over in his small form and glancing at the magician. "The idea is to keep Hei-ying in a support, a cradle of magic, until he can orientate his ability to take in magic himself, and alter the dynamics so he can draw magic from the stars, not the moon as Kyree forced him to." The small blue guardian glanced over another book. "We will have to train Master Kinomoto to take on this guardian, teach him the spells . . ."

"Why?" 

Touya frowned slightly as Yue and Keroberos both nodded. Ruby Moon sighed as she paused behind Tomoyo. "All guardians hand themselves over when they are transferred to a new master . . . it's like . . ." She sucked in her bottom lip and sighed, "It's like walking into a darkened, strange room. Your first reaction is to reach out and flip the light switch by the door." She paused, and bit her lip again, "But how do you know? How do you know there's a light switch there?" She shook her head, "You don't, it's just ingrained knowledge. The sight of the dark room tells your brain that there's a light switch to turn the light on. With us, the transfer of ownership isn't just one way. It's like, the last master turned off our light, and moved the light switch . . . then, when you come into the room, we don't actively tell you, but we sorta push the light switch into your roving hand." Ruby frowned deeper, "With Hei-ying, it's like someone has pulled the light switch off the wall altogether and thrown it out the window." 

Eriol smiled slightly, as the rest tried to follow Ruby's explanation. The butterfly girl valiantly continued. 

"And because of that, Hei-ying can't tell you where his switches are, what turns him on, or puts him out, what stops him when he disobeys you, or any sort of thing like that, it's like you're going to have to put your own switches into Hei-ying's mind, and we're going to have to teach you how to do that . . ." Ruby sucked in her lip and glanced at Eriol, "Did that sound right. . .?"

"It didn't make much sense . . . "Eriol admitted softly, he reached over and patted her hand, "But it is basically what we're going to teach you, Touya . . ."

Yue sighed, "We want to avoid activating the Ying Yang Syndrome between Hei-ying and I; so this teaching will have to happen quickly, we cannot risk allowing Hei-ying to draw more magic from Sakura or Eriol for too long. The transfer of ownership should happen as soon as possible." He glanced at Touya, "We're going to have to teach you how to control a guardian, and then you will develop your own variation based on this to control Hei-ying."

"Allowing Hei-ying to take his orders from you, Touya, will mean that Hei-ying will not have a chance to become dangerous again." Eriol pulled a sheet of paper up, and took a pencil up. He drew a moon, a star and a sun in a triangle, beside the sun and the star he drew a smaller moon and sun. He drew a circle around the large sun, and the star, linking their two orbiting suns and moons together. Eriol glanced up at them, pointing to the small moon and sun around the large sun. 

"This is Ruby and Spinel. They draw magic from me, as a planet would from the sun". He pointed to the star, "Likewise from Sakura to Yue and Keroberos." He drew a small star beside the large moon, and drew one line around it to signify the orbit. "Hei-ying is influenced by the stars, like Sakura, his is a small power . . . It is stronger, when influenced by emotion, the more a star magic magician or creation desires it, the stronger the spell. Hei-ying is technically weaker than Yue, but his magic is consistent, not affected the movement of the moon. Keroberos far outweighs Hei-ying in terms of magic, the Sun guardian will always be the most powerful, not so powerful that he will tip the balance but his slight increase will always be significant. But . . ." Eriol sighed, "And it affects both magicians and creations . . . Sun influenced magic often bestows a whimsical nature, impulsive and a tendency to be overtly confident and in cases . . . like Mystrasa's sun guardian, far too arrogant for their own good." 

Eriol smiled slightly as Ruby snorted quietly.

"Hei-ying is probably the easiest kind of creation to manage when managed well. The problems lie with Hei-ying's *personality*. Clow created him to be *too* intelligent."

"Can say that again!" Keroberos scoffed darkly, he glanced at Touya, "That's one thing you're going to have problems with . . . Hei-ying is too intelligent, if you say something he doesn't understand he will make himself pass out so he can focus all of his mind on sorting it out." Keroberos shook his head at Touya's deep frown, "No, not like running into walls . . . like . . . he always sorta went into a trance, and his body just stopped working . . ." Keroberos raised a furry eyebrow, "You are going to have to be very, very precise with him. You think Yue is bad? Hei-ying is worse, if you do not tell him in the most accurate way you can, he will do what *he* thinks is your intension."

Yue stared at Keroberos, "I didn't know that . . ." 

Keroberos shook his head, "Never seemed to be any reason . . ." The lion nodded, "I suppose that's why I survived for as long as I did before you were created . . . Clow told him to train me in magic; he had to carry out that task before he could do anything else."

"Is there any way, any method we could use to change his personality?" Syaoran finally spoke up. He glanced at Sakura; he was most certainly not comfortable with Hei-ying, worried sincerely for Sakura's health and security. "If he is still dangerous, I suggest we remove any elements of his personality that makes him that way . . ."

"It's not so easy . . ." Eriol sighed, "Once a guardian is formed, a guardian is formed . . . Short of killing him and then creating a guardian in his likeness, I see no way of changing Hei-ying. We could select and erase parts of his memories, the parts that contribute to his madness . . . we can selectively change his memory but . . ."

"The problem with that is that nobody knows for *sure* why Hei-ying is the way he is . . ." Tomoyo shook her head, "We can't just change Hei-ying because we don't like his colours . . ." She looked up at the table of magicians. "There are memories I don't want . . . but if I forget them, I only risk letting those memories happen again . . ." 

"Tomoyo-chan is right; we can't just force Hei-ying to change!" Sakura nodded, "Mistakes are there to be learnt from. Let's try to learn from our past, and help Hei-ying *now*!" She looked at her brother, "Ne? Let us please try hard! Let's try our best for Hei-ying!"

Sakura leant over the table to stare into her brother's eyes, and the taller magician pursed his lips. He really didn't want to take Hei-ying on as his guardian; the whole idea seemed cruel, forcing this damaged guardian to become another's slave. . ? Not to mention, Hei-ying, even if he was under the control of Mystrasa Kyree had been the cause of his father's death. Did he really want to harbour his father's killer? Yue turned slightly, and reached out to touch Touya's arm, his amethyst eyes quietly pleading. Relenting, Touya sighed, "Very well. What will we need to do?"

"We will have to wait until the spring . . . if memory serves, Hei-ying was created in the spring therefore his body will be physically at its strongest then." Eriol sighed, "And we need time to prepare the spell. It's a very large spell, and leaves very little room for error. If it is worded wrong, even in the slightest, we could harm ourselves, and maybe even kill Hei-ying in the process."

Sakura nodded, "Hai." She glanced around, "This house then . . ." She sighed and looked at Eriol, "This house then would be too small for a spell of that magnitude."

"I'm afraid so . . ."

"Sakura-chan . . ." Syaoran took her hand and stared at her seriously, "We have money enough between us to keep this house. But while we wait for Hei-ying recover enough, you may as well move in with us, move into the Tsukimine Mansion . . . it would minimise how much normal people see, the gossip of constant activity at this house would cause problems . . ."

 Sakura glanced at her brother, who closed his eyes, and nodded slowly.

"Agreed." 

And so it was . . .

The Kinomotos packed a few belongings, and locked up their house, taking enough clothing to last them for a while. Sakura made sure to take her cards and her key, her favourite dark pink cloak wrapped about her body, warm against the hard winter. She used the Small card to shrink their belongings, and Eriol took them to the mansion. As Sakura flew ahead with Keroberos, Touya drove their small family car, with Yukito in the front seat watching patiently over his elder brother, Hei-ying, as the dark angel slept in the back seat. 

The New Year celebrations in the Tsukimine Mansion were a happy affair, as life began to settle down there. Yue and Keroberos both remarking on how well Eriol had managed to recreate his house after it had been bulldozed to make way for a funfair. Eriol had completely recreated the same house from England, with four floors, rather than the six it had in England, and the three it had had here in Japan previously. Eriol suggested that the guardians could have the six rooms on the fourth floor, while the humans could have the third floor. 

"I didn't think I'd ever need the mansion again after I tested Sakura," Eriol peered into Yue's room, "I hope everything is to your liking. . ." 

Yue's room was ice blues, pale purples and silver, motifs of moons, wispy Japanese clouds, rabbits and snow decorated the room and curtains and the bed. The traditional four-poster bed, which Clow had always given to his guardians, was placed near the middle of the room, the headboard resting against the wall. The windows were of a decent size, and Eriol had made sure Yue had a window seat that overlooked the garden. To the other side of the room were some book shelves, filled half with books, with plenty of room for Yue's collection, a wardrobe with a chest of drawers beside it, and a broad writing desk with a large mirror that possessed the same moons and rabbit motifs as the walls only etched into he edges of the glass. The small lamp was enchanted, requiring only a wave of a hand to switch it on. The dark blue glass lamp shade had moons etched into the glass, with snow flakes hanging from the rim like rain drops, the lamp itself was bronze with little rabbits etched into the metal. Yue looked around the room, and placed down his bags, "It's fine . . ." He murmured, "But Yuki. . ."

"You and Yuki may use this room as you please . . ." Eriol smiled knowingly, "Touya has a double sized bed, as you will notice you do as well . . . therefore, it really doesn't matter where you sleep." 

Next door to Yue, Keroberos claimed the room closest to the stairs. His sunshine yellow and orange room was bright and airy which complemented its dark wood panelling, with easily opened windows and a large sill for the window, rather than a seat. He had the same furniture as Yue, with the exception of a desk. Instead he had a dressing table, and places enough to put his belongings. Sakura had brought his small drawer/room from her desk, which she kept in her new room. Ruby and Spinel had their rooms as well, Spinel's was beside Keroberos' and Ruby's was opposite Spinel's.  

Their rooms were decorated to their tastes, Spinel's with royal blues, strikingly formal yet warming in its own studious way, and many, many bookshelves and Ruby's was beautifully decorated with curling summer flowers in deep red hues. With her large windows facing the west, the evening sunset would break in and burnish the walls with the richest autumnal ambers and oranges, golden stripes of sunlight more restful than fire. Each room held the same kinds of furniture, but they were tailored to suit each guardian. 

Sakura climbed the stairs and met with Eriol as he came out of Spinel's room. They glanced at each other and then to the end of the corridor. The room next to Yue's – much to Keroberos' protests – was turned into Hei-ying's room. As the dark angel slept, Sakura and Tomoyo tried their hardest to make the room look like Hei-ying was welcomed there. Sakura used her powers to decorate the room in dark greens, and Tomoyo patiently worked on repairing the angel's robes. She tried not to change the design too much, keeping the same black and jade green. Eriol provided her with a new stone for the chest, and Ruby helped to sew the hand and foot spurs. 

As Eriol continued to plan the spell to save Hei-ying, the four guardians lent the dark angel a little of their magic to sustain him. Even Keroberos relented on Yue's request, at least outwardly

Sakura opened the door, and walked over to the windows. 

"Ohayo, Hei-ying-san!!" 

She threw open the curtains letting the sunlight pour through. She'd gotten up nice and early, to give her small amount of magic to Hei-ying. Sakura planned on staying with the guardian, seeing if she could wake him even a little. As the winter melted into the spring, Sakura noticed that when the small transfers occurred, Hei-ying would regain a little colour in his cheeks, and maybe open his eyes a little. Sakura grabbed a brush off the dresser and made herself comfortable on the bed, "Ne, Hei-ying-san . . . will you wake for me today?" She brushed evenly, trying to work out the small knots that gathered in his fringe. His sleek black hair wasn't shiny or sleek anymore, with his life threatening lack of magic, his powers tried to keep him in existence rather than work on his looks. Hei-ying's pallid eyelids fluttered as she allowed some of her magic to bleed into him. 

Sakura smiled warmly at this. "Wakey~ Wakey~!"

There was a chuckle from the doorway, as Tomoyo opened the door and looked in. "Sakura-chan?"

"Hai!" Sakura nodded, as Tomoyo entered and came to sit on the other side of the bed. Tomoyo opened her hands and whispered a quiet incantation, a bunch of roses appearing quickly in her hands, "Tomoyo-chan! You're getting better!" 

Tomoyo blushed slightly, "I'm still very much a novice though . . ." She placed the roses on Hei-ying's bedside, and picked up the small sewing basket from the seat nearby. Tomoyo pulled out Hei-ying's robes and her needles. She'd been repairing the angel's robes, with the help of Sakura and her magic to provide the material needed. Tomoyo decided to work on the lapels today, as Sakura continued to brush his hair. The two women sat in companionable silence, until Nakuru swung the door open, "Ohayo!!" She sang happily, "How is the patient?"

"He's doing fine, Nakuru . . ." Tomoyo looked up and smiled, "How are you today?"

"Genki as always!!" The guardian spun in a circle, and ran over to Hei-ying's bedside, "So eldest cousin, will today be the day?!" Sakura giggled as Nakuru folded her arms and sighed impatiently. "Mou!! He should be awake and helping with the chores!" 

"Nakuru-chan doesn't like polishing the floor, does she?" Tomoyo teased gently, "Maybe you should have Keroberos dust with his tail!"

"Hai!!" Nakuru held up a finger and nodded, "Yue-kun should do the washing up!" She blinked suddenly, as a familiar voice murmured deep inside of her mind, "Ara . . .?"

"Nani?" Sakura looked up as Nakuru stilled, "What's wrong?"

"That's right!" Nakuru smiled widely, "Eriol-sama wonders if you would like to eat breakfast, he and Syaoran are making it!"

"UN!" Sakura nodded enthusiastically, "I'll be happy to!! Ne, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Hai desu ka." Tomoyo folded her sewing, and started to pack it away. She brushed off the small thread clippings and stood, "Let's go together, Sakura-chan."

Nakuru was already bouncing out of the room and had grabbed Tomoyo's arm to drag the young woman out of the room. Sakura giggled happily, as Tomoyo called out for Nakuru to slow down. She looked down at Hei-ying, and leant forward to whisper, "Are you sure you don't want to join us? Ne, Hei-ying-san?"

As Sakura raised her head, she became aware she was no longer in Hei-ying's room. She blinked and looked around; the person on the bed had changed. A girl with long black hair lay sleeping. She sighed in her sleep and turned her face away from Sakura. The card mistress jumped and stood quickly, turning as the room suddenly plunged into darkness. Beneath her feet, her magic circle suddenly appeared, burning brightly with magic. As it had when she'd unwittingly released the cards, magical forces stirred under her feet. 

Sakura stepped back slightly as the magic grew and grew. "Na-Nani?!" She raised her head as she started to see and hear things, past, present and future. . . cherry blossoms became snow became rain became cherry blossoms became snow became rain became--Simultaneously she saw Eriol swing his large gold— Yue draw a pale hand back, a cold blue orb formi— An elderly man with hard grey old eyes throw the study door open and see Clow and Hei-ying, kis---oran and Meilin, side by side, exchange a determined look as they prepared to figh—losions of magic as the spell came undo--inel draw breathe before firing his deadly ruby bea—ith dark grey eyes, growl as he threw his hands into the air, magic swirling uncontro—moyo turning her camera on upon the moon and glimpsing the sight of – her cards shaking hard as they swirled around her in --ather looking up at her mother who had just fallen from—Touya and Yukito exchanging barbs about having a sister compl—flutter her butterfly wings and laughing as she chased her brothe—his sleek black hair loose and dripping wet as he washed it in the pon—ing Clow leaf after yellow leaf, not understanding that autumn did— Four dragons twist and turn over one another as they flew over the Great Wall of Chin—A young Clow Reed, with his dark blue eyes wide open, and his hair unbound, he reached out with his hand and his staff appeared. He looked a little apprehensive as he closed his eyes and held out his free hand. A card appeared there, and Clow threw it away from himself. Sakura felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as he spoke words she couldn't hear, but recognised easily. He drew his staff back and swung it hard as he—blackness, water . . . she was underwater, she was drowning. . . and there was a voice. It echoed under the water. . .

"Help me. . . Sakura . . ." The woman, was it her voice that pleaded? Sakura's cheeks hurt from trying to keep in the air, "Please help me. . ."

"Water . . ." Clow's older voice now echoed as a bright dot of magic appeared in front of her, "Water is something that flows, forever flowing . . ." 

"SAKURA!!" 

She looked around trying to find up, trying desperately to find the surface. Soft strands of black hair floated around her, and she turned to find a small boy with incredibly long black hair floating under water. In his hands, he held the small bright dot of magic tightly to his chest. He stared at her with implacable green eyes, a dark smile spreading over his lips as he watched her drown. //Hei-ying?!// Sakura screamed mentally as she felt the crushing water on her small chest. The child version of Hei-ying, possibly no older than five, blinked and reacted to the mental scream. He looked concerned for her, even though he was under the water and appeared to be in no trouble at all. Sakura reached for him, //Hei-ying!! Please!!//

The child Hei-ying blinked slowly, his hair flowing in front of his features, beginning to obscure him from view. His eyes glowed dimly from within the black mass, as his pale hands thrust forward. The small point of light, a small star burning brightly in the dark water, pulsed strongly. Sakura reached for it, the water was crushing her! She gasped, coughed and spluttered. She began to choke, as Syaoran's voice broke through the water. "SAKURA!! WAKE UP!! SAAAAKURAAAAAA!!"

Hands, pale and weak grabbed at her. She was drowning, in this darkness and yet she felt no fear. The small star assured her silently that she wasn't in as much trouble as she feared. She reached out to grab the small point of light, before the bony, pale hands twisted in her clothing and pulled hard. 

The young version of Hei-ying's eyes widening as his hair parted, and he screamed silently under the water with sheer terror.

The small point of light was just out of her reach . . . and Sakura went crashing out of consciousness. 

"Sakura-chan!!" Tomoyo shook Sakura hard, as Syaoran chanted another spell. "Sakura-chan!! Wake up!"

She'd looked away for a moment, Tomoyo was sure it hadn't even been a second, before Nakuru suddenly snapped into her full form and ran back into Hei-ying's room, her ruby shard bow drawn and looking for a target. As they rushed back into the room, they found Hei-ying holding Sakura protectively in his arms. He was knelt on the floor, she was soaking wet as if she had been underwater. Sakura was pale and Hei-ying was breathing laboriously. His eyes, once brilliant shades of jade, were now a dark forest green. He rasped as he spoke, wheezing hard, "A vision . . ." He whispered urgently, "It's a vision. . ." 

Ruby made her magic weapons disappear, and rushed to his side as the dark angel passed out, and Sakura slipped from his grasp. "Sakura!!" Keroberos ran into the room, Touya and Yue at his heels. "I felt magic, powerful magic!" The lion growled, as he approached the fallen body of Hei-ying, "You . . ." 

Falling to her knees, Tomoyo reached out and grabbed Kero's neck, "No!! He's asleep; he pulled Sakura out of whatever it was that had her!" 

Growling impotently, Keroberos padded around the body of Hei-ying irritably, before bending over to grab his collar in his jaws and started to drag Hei-ying back over to the bed. Ruby Moon had exclaimed then that Hei-ying's arms were wet, as if he'd reached into a well. Spinel arrived with Syaoran and Eriol shortly after that, and Syaoran was trying every incantation he knew to wake Sakura up.

"Clow . . ." Sakura opened her eyes, and blinked slowly. The light after so much darkness was painful, and she winced. 

"Sakura!" Keroberos' Osaka accent was heavy as he nudged her gently, "Sakura! Daijobu ka?"

"Ha. . . hai. . ." Sakura struggled to sit up and smiled gratefully as Syaoran supported her, "Arigato Syaoran-kun. . ." She raised her head a little higher and looked up, "What was that? For a dream it was surprisingly strong . . ."

Yue stared at her for a very long moment before speaking softly; "I think something powerful is coming now . . ." He glanced over at Hei-ying. Keroberos sat beside the dark angel, staring intently into the peaceful features. Hei-ying looked as if he was dead again, but the steady rise and fall of his chest told them otherwise. Yue breathed in as he met his older brother's golden eyes, what secrets were hiding deep within Hei-ying? Yue sucked in his bottom lip for a moment longer, and looked at Touya. The taller boy stared at him intensely, fear for his sister almost naked in his eyes. Yue shook his head, "Sakura . . ." The honey gold haired girl blinked and looked up at him, as he knelt beside her and explained in patient, quiet tones, "You called out to all of us, with your magic . . . and Hei-ying was the closest to respond . . ." He looked at her very seriously, his amethyst eyes glowing dimly from under silvered hair, "What did you see?"

Yue's intense gaze, even after ten years, made Sakura swallow. She stared back, her own emerald eyes deeply focused as a chill ran over her body and she replied softly, "I don't remember . . ."

As Clow had done before them, Sakura, Eriol and Touya came together and placed the mansion under a very powerful spell. Now placing every week for the outside world, as a month for those who dwelt within. The spring came soon enough, melting away the snow. Keroberos sighed as he walked around the gardens. "It's like stepping back in time . . ." He murmured quietly as he rounded a corner. True to his memory, standing in the middle of the grounds, was a huge Sakura tree. He walked up to it and blinked, "Ho?" He hummed, "This hasn't blossomed yet?" 

Familiar feelings rolled over his sense as Yue landed nearby, "Keroberos . . . what are you doing?"

"This blossom tree . . ." Keroberos turned and looked over as Ruby and Spinel landed with them, "It's not blossoming . . . isn't it getting a bit late for it?"

Ruby blinked and looked up, "It's really old, Eriol-sama had it twinned from the same cherry tree from the Shrine . . ." 

Walking up to Keroberos, Spinel sat beside him and looked up, "It's probably too old to blossom now . . ."

"You know what would finish this scene off . . .?" The group of guardians turned to find Eriol and Sakura behind them, Touya, Tomoyo and Syaoran either side of them, carrying picnic baskets. Each was dressed in their magic robes, Eriol wore his minus his large hat, and the hem of Sakura's large pink cloak pooled at her feet. Tomoyo's robes consisted her purple cloaks, and incorporated some of Eriol's design. 

Sakura chuckled, "I remember when Clow did this . . ." She stepped forward, and pulled the Flower card out of her pocket and flung it into the air. She pulled out her key and called out her star staff, "Although . . ." Sakura twirled it around her wrist, she giggled, "When Clow did it he was able just to say one word . . ." 

The beautiful Flower card danced as Sakura commanded it to restore the Sakura tree. The tree bloomed, and Sakura petals rained down all around them, Ruby lifted her arms and spun around delighted, as Yue walked over to sit in the shade of the tree. Spinel shook the petals off his head, as Keroberos turned to Sakura. The young woman giggled and caught the card; she smiled at Keroberos widely, "Os that better?"

"Well, of course it is!" He grumbled, he rolled his eyes, "Don't you become too much like Clow now! That man was far too weird!" He turned away and padded over to Yue's side, muttering loudly, "And then Clow was a man with so many problems . . . he would do this. . . oh! And this!!"

Sakura shook her head as Keroberos continued to grouse about Clow's many problems. One of which – she averted her eyes determinedly to the sunny day outside – was languishing in the dark within. Touya shook out the blanket nearby, and sat down, glancing up at the Sakura blossoms, he looked over at his sister. Since the vision, Sakura had seen nothing more, and remembered even less. She said she knew Clow was involved in some fashion, and she'd seen a woman but it wasn't Kyree. Hei-ying would return to his full form, but would not be violent. Aside from that, Sakura could remember very little else. It disturbed Touya and Syaoran, but until Sakura could relate more there was nothing they could do about it. They would have to wait until Hei-ying was recovered. Tomoyo knelt and began to unpack the food, as Eriol walked over to the tree and spoke quietly with his guardians. "Is it really okay . . .?"

Syaoran settled down, and glanced at Tomoyo, "Nani?"

She clasped the box of sandwiches; "We've left Hei-ying alone . . . should we not watch over him?"

"The spring will rejuvenate him . . ." Ruby sank down beside her, and reached in the box to pull out a carton of juice, "Eriol-sama says it's only a short time until the spell is ready for him . . ."

Touya sighed, "And soon we will find out the truth . . ."

He stared out of his room's window, and sighed heavily. 

"Well . . ." He murmured to himself, "At least that creation o' Clow's escaped . . ." He turned from the window, and pulled his jacket up tighter, the cool of the night seeping in. "What help 'e can find is another matter all together . . ."

Left with no other choice but to trust his own murderer, Marcibay Hilligans shook his head, and sank down on his bed. He looked up, as there was a quiet knock at his door and the woman walked in. The woman, whom that magician, Maduokai, called Lady Asil had been there the entire time, and Hilligans had no doubt that she – like him – had been raised from the dead. 

The time which they'd been brought to was vastly different from when he'd been alive, but this Lord Maduokai, the man who'd brought him back from the dead, was from the same time as Hilligans was, he could just feel it. 

Strange magic resonated around this castle, and the strange land surrounding it told Hilligans he was nowhere near England. He sighed as she walked up to the window and stared out. She had not been so fortunate as Hilligans; her mind was blank. She could only move around, drifting like a ghost. While he was able to regain his memory within a couple of years, she continued to drift. She rarely spoke, her accent faintly aristocratic. Her eyes were beautiful, and her hair was long and black. She sat in the chair by his bed and stared at him.

"Wha' d'yer want, lassie?"

"Nothing." The faint reply came, "I just . . ."

Hilligans shook his head; Maduokai really hadn't perfected his skills enough when he'd brought this poor young woman back to life. She was left with no desires, no wants, she drifted around this castle alone with no thoughts to keep her attention. Her memory was like a fine sand in an hour glass, continually running but going nowhere. She'd forget things almost as soon as she knew them, names only staying with her for a short period of time before she just let them go. He glanced at her hands, and saw a brush there. "You came t' me t' get yer hair brush'd?"

She blinked, "I suppose so . . ."

She sat still in the chair as he got up, and walked over toward her. He gently pulled the brush out of her loose grasp and began to brush her hair. "How d'yer want your hair t' look t'day?"

There was no response from her. 

He could see her looking in the mirror at herself and he sighed as he stared at her expression.

She didn't really care.

------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: [runs around happily in circles] WAI!! WAI!! Everyone who reviews is wonderful!! My beta reader is brilliant!! [falls to knees humbly and bows] I thank you all very much! I hope that this info dump chapter was long enough or not too long, it's just like Tainted Soul, and There Lies Hope, this Find Redemption is threatening to turn out much longer! I like to think that is because I am slowly becoming more and more experienced with this style of writing!

Yue: [raises eyebrow] Or could it be because you are pulling a J.K and writing until the Writer's Block gives way?

DrM: Cruel!! Cruel I say!

Yue: No, cruel would be bringing up a certain— [DrM tackles Yue to the ground and claps her hands over his mouth]

DrM: [grins angelically]

Kero: Hey, if Hei-ying is back. . . and . . . [reads chapter] If this Hilligans bloke is back too doesn't that technically mean Cl—

DrM: [throws pillows at Kero] QUIET!! [growls] Sheesh, stop it already!! [glances at readers] hey, while I deal with these two, why not leave a review and let me know your thoughts about this fic so far!! Thank you!!


	6. Restoration

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Five: Restoration

Sakura yawned as she padded up the stairs to the third floor. 

Dinner had been filling, and the planning for the spell they were going to cast over Hei-ying was very tiring. She sighed. Syaoran was working very hard; he didn't want anything to go wrong at all. Spinel Sun and Yue stayed with him, as Kero, Ruby and Eriol tried to teach Touya some basic guardian control. Tomoyo had insisted that Sakura go to bed to conserve her strength and was in the kitchen making her best friend some hot cocoa. Sakura shook her head; at least she'd made Tomoyo promise to retire after that.

_"One, two . . . I love you . . ."_

Sakura blinked, the quiet voice was unfamiliar as it echoed around her. The singer was hidden from view, as she looked around. "Hello?"

_"Three, four . . . love me more . . ."_

"Who's there?" Sakura turned in a circle; the voice was come from above her. "Are you lost? Where are you?" Sakura turned again as a childish giggle sounded, and she stared up at the fourth floor railings. A child, with shadowy black hair stared down at her, and smiled. In his hands, he held the small point of light again. 

It slipped lightly, weightlessly, from one hand to another as he tossed it between them. The child version of Hei-ying giggled again, his voice quietly disturbing in the silence of the mansion. "Hei-ying?"

_"Five, six . . ."_ The child sang slowly, _"The door shall stick . . ."_

"Matte, ne!" Sakura called up, she pulled out her key, and asked the fly to grant her wings. She fluttered up and landed quickly on the fourth floor. She glanced around, the door to Ruby's room was open, and a pale green light spilled from it. A shadow moved before the light, pacing back and forth every few seconds. Sakura blinked, and glanced down at the child dangling his legs through the railings, "Hei-ying . . . but . . . how?"

The child looked up at her, and got up. He stared at her, his expression melting from contemplation to dark amusement that scared Sakura. "Hei-ying?"

This child Hei-ying ignored her as he walked toward the open door. Sakura frowned worriedly as she noticed the child was dripping wet with water, but where he had been sitting was dry. She turned, the slow drip from the cuffs of his loose dark green trousers, and the hem of his long pale green shirt adding to her rising fear. "Hei-ying . . . why . . .?"

_"Seven, eight . . ."_ The child began to sing again as he turned to stare into the room, the light in his hands burning brighter, _"All love turns to hate . . ."_

Sakura felt pulled somehow, "Hei-ying . . ." She stepped closer to the door, unaware her staff and her cards fell to the floor suddenly dull in comparison to the magic of the little light in his hands. "What are you doing . . .?"

_"Then nine, ten and eleven . . ."_ Hei-ying glanced at her and stepped into the dimly lit room. He smiled, and peered around the doorway at her with one glowing jade eye. Sakura walked up to the doorway and blinked as she realised the child version of Hei-ying was gone. The light in the room was blinding suddenly, a quiet murmur of voices overlapped each other as she stared in. Sakura stepped closer, hearing Clow's voice sound above the cacophony briefly.

"Water . . . Sakura, water is something that flows . . ." 

She frowned and tried to look back, sure in her heart that there was something wrong with this room. "Hei-ying . . . where are you?"

The child's voice began to sing again, horrible surety in his tone as he giggled agitatedly; "I'm never going to heaven!"

_"SAKURA!!"_

Syaoran's wide, dark brown eyes stared at her filled with complete fear. She blinked, feeling dulled senses clear slightly, she was aware he was clutching her hard, aware that he was trembling violently. She glanced over; her brother was staring at her, his large hands cradling her head. Her wet head. She frowned slightly, why was she soaking wet all over?!

Tomoyo stood just behind Syaoran, her eyes were filled with tears, and her pale hands clutched hard against her mouth. She shook hard, her eyes wide with fear.

Sakura frowned deeply as she tried to take this all in, why was she lying on the floor . . .?

Above her, Keroberos and Yue swooped down from the fourth floor. Keroberos carrying the cards in his mouth and Yue holding the staff in the other hand. The sound of someone breathing unsteadily caught her attention. Sakura tilted her head slowly, and saw Eriol rocking Ruby gently, the butterfly-winged girl was hyperventilating, her eyes wide open as Eriol knelt beside her and rubbed her back slowly. He looked paler than usual, and Ruby's hands were grabbing painfully into his thighs, as if she couldn't even support herself. He sighed, and moved so he could pull her up into a sitting position. Ruby's body was virtually boneless as he held his hand up, "Stop . . ." 

Ruby's eyes crossed and she slumped forward. Eriol glanced up and called Spinel down. The large cat looked as unnerved as the others, as he landed and padded over to support his sister. Eriol thanked him quietly and ran over to Tomoyo's side, to hold her tightly. Tomoyo lowered her hands from her mouth and embraced Eriol gratefully.

What happened? Sakura's sticky mouth felt like she had a mouthful of honey. Her speech was slurred as her brain scrambled to get her senses to catch up with everything that was happening around her. Keroberos landed nearby and ran over to her, spitting the cards out, as he demanded, "Sakura? Sakura?! What did you do that for?!"

"Do what?"

"You called out to all the guardians again, and then . . ." Yue frowned deeply as he knelt by Keroberos, and peered down at her, "Then you climbed onto the railing, reached out to something, or someone and . . ." 

"You fell." Syaoran finished quietly, "Without any magic; you just stepped forward and fell!" He closed his eyes and held her closer, "Sakura . . . you began to fall, and Yue and Keroberos were ready to catch you, but then you . . . you . . . it was like you were a ghost!" He shook his head, obviously not wanting to even think about it. "You fell through them, through Spinel, and finally Ruby managed to catch you. . ." Sakura blinked as she began to get a hold of the situation around her. Tomoyo raised her face from Eriol's chest, and stared at her, "Sakura-chan, why were you singing that horrible song?" Tomoyo shivered, "It was like you . . ." she shook her head, unable to comprehend it all. "Sakura-chan, why . . .?"

"What song?"

"One, two, I love you . . ." Touya closed his eyes as he recited the horrid poem his little sister had sung over and over since Ruby had saved her, "Three, four, love me more, five, six, the door will stick, seven, eight, all love turns to hate, then nine, ten and eleven, I'm not going to heaven." He opened his eyes and smoothed back a soaked lock of honey gold hair, "What did you see, Sakura-chan?"

"A boy . . ." She whispered back, "I saw Hei-ying, Hei-ying as a boy, as a child . . . he was singing that . . . I followed him . . ."

"Why?" Eriol asked quietly, "Were you aware you weren't moving anywhere?"

"No, I thought I was walking into a room with green light coming from it . . ." Sakura frowned, "I can't remember what happened after that . . . just that before I went into the room, Hei-ying was singing that song . . ."

Syaoran tipped his head back, and stared up.

Hei-ying was found on the fourth floor, slumped half way out of his room, his hand outstretched. His magic was too drained for him to try and stop Sakura from falling.

"Sakura, wherever you go . . ." Syaoran whispered determinedly, "I will go with you . . . this is too dangerous; these visions are too strong . . ."

He glanced down at her, and sighed. His overcoat was slung over her, and she was sound asleep once more, comfortable in his arms. 

Dull black hair curled uninspiring on the floor.

It coiled more like ocean worn rope than the fine silk that it had once been. His pale hand reached out, covered barely by his tattered, patched up uniform sleeves. He lolled lifelessly, like a dirty, old doll whose owner had cruelly thrown him out to rot. Hei-ying's head tipped back, his matted fringe flopping aside to reveal a pale face. His dark green eyes, still lifeless and a horribly muddy green, were barely open. 

The vision Sakura had had a few days ago had drained Hei-ying almost completely, the sheer act of getting out of the bed and racing across the room had sapped almost all his energy.

Touya stepped back, and looked at Yue. The angel had been quiet as they moved his brother from his bed to the study. Yue looked faintly sick to see Hei-ying so weak looking. It brought back memories of Kyree Mystrasa, the way she was rotting alive in reality behind her spells. 

Eriol walked over to the desk and picked up a few sheets of paper, reading them over and over. The spell was done in the fashion of Clow Reed's incantations, a strange mixture of Japanese and English. "I command thee . . ." He murmured absently, "The guardian of the stellar . . ." He frowned and lifted his pen, striking the word out, "Of the stars . . ."

Behind him, Tomoyo fiddled with Sakura's simple costumes. The purple haired woman brushed her hand over Sakura's shoulder and squeezed, "Daijobu desu ka?"

 Sakura blinked, and looked over at Tomoyo. The other's eyes were filled with worry. Sakura smiled as best she could before her concentrated frown fell back, "Hai . . . demo . . ."

"Demo?"

"Demo . . ." Sakura sighed, "I wonder if this is really good for Hei-ying, he still seems too weak . . ." 

Tomoyo looked at the dark angel as Ruby Moon cradled his head in her lap and Yue fixed up the broken clasps on his collar. Spinel and Keroberos sat a little distance away; both stared at Hei-ying intently and spoke quietly between themselves. The room was filled with tension, and Tomoyo was worried more for Sakura, Eriol and Touya. The three had been preparing to perform the strong spell for the last few days, Syaoran led all three in rounds of meditation, and for hours Eriol had been locked away in this study with Spinel composing the spell. On Tomoyo's part, she sat with Hei-ying talking endlessly to him, singing, telling him of what had happened since he'd died. She hoped to provide him with a voice he could recognise when he woke up. She knew on some gut level, Hei-ying would not be as he was when he died. She could see it when she stared into the dying pale face, when those sludge green eyes that grew darker as time passed opened, she saw that Hei-ying's mind would not be as perfect as the others hoped.

"Are you ready?"

Sakura clutched her staff close to her chest, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Daijobu . . ." she whispered to herself out of habit, "Everything will be okay . . ." 

The cards in her pocket resonated with magic, as they sensed the gathering forces in the room. Yue paused, brushing a lock of hair form his eldest brother's brow, before standing. He turned and stared into Touya's intense sapphire eyes. The dark haired boy stared at Hei-ying before looking at Yue, "Are you ready for this?" He asked quietly, "We don't know what his reaction will be to this." 

Yue swallowed, and raised a hand to his hip. He looked down; a tendril of dull black hair lay on the deep red carpet limply. "I don't know what my reaction will be . . ." Yue admitted softly, "but we have to know what happened to Oniichan . . ." He looked at Touya, "Please do your best . . ."

Touya nodded and turned his head to Eriol, "I'm ready . . ."

Eriol breathed in, blinking as he felt Syaoran's dark green aura brush behind him. Syaoran's voice was quiet, for him only to hear. "Calm down . . ." Syaoran reminded him softly, "Your tension filled aura is making the cards and the guardians nervous . . ." 

Forcing his shoulders to relax, Eriol whispered back to his relative, "Easy for you to say . . . you're not resuscitating one of the most dangerous creations Clow ever created."

Syaoran's hand patted his shoulder once and Tomoyo's lips brushed over Sakura's cheek before the two humans retreated to the door of the study. Syaoran held up his talisman and called his sword into existence. He raised an arm, and moved Tomoyo to stand behind him. The four guardians glanced at each other and took up compass points. Yue stood to the east and Keroberos to the north. Between them stood Sakura. She ran her white gloved hand over the dark red cloak, and patted her hand over the form fitting costume underneath. It was similar to one of the first costumes she'd ever donned, the one she'd battled the Shadow Card with. She glanced over at Tomoyo, the belt buckle ends on the hat ribbons clinking together as she moved. The purple haired girl held up her camera and smiled. She gave Sakura the 'thumbs-up', as the small red light came on the end. Syaoran shook his head, as Tomoyo whispered something to him. Focusing his attention on Sakura, Syaoran raised his sword in preparation. 

To the south, Spinel stood facing his long time rival, Keroberos. 

The panther breathed in and lifted his head majestically. Touya stepped forward, and stood between Yue and Spinel. The quiet magician squared his shoulders, and breathed out, flexing his fingers by his side slowly. Deep within his traditional mage's cloak, his silver key on its chain began to pulse with moon-laced magic. Touya lifted his hand and pulled his hat forward slightly. He stared at Hei-ying, still reluctant to help this fallen angel. He blinked as he felt calming magic flow subtly in his direction. Blinking he looked at Yue. Outwardly, the angel was composed as ever, but he channelled some of his magic toward Touya to create a link between the two lovers.  

Touya smiled privately, and reached into his pocket. 

His deep blue magic circle appeared powerfully, sweeping up cool strands of glowing cerulean magic. 

"O Key . . ." he opened his hand, revealing his silver magic key, "Key of the Moon . . ." Tipping his hand, the key swung on its silver chain as he raised his other hand. "Come to me . . ." The chain melted from existence as a small sphere of dark blue magic surround the silver key, "Grant me thy power . . ." The key began to spin, and lengthened to become the floor length staff as magic swirled around it, "Assist me now . . ." Touya's eyes opened, and they almost crackled with magic, "RELEASE!"

"O Key that hides the power of the stars . . ." Sakura's large white gold magic circle spun out from under her feet powerful, and out of the corner of his eye, Touya saw all of the guardians shiver with her magic. Even Hei-ying who seemed dead to the world responded. Her small pink key began to spin in the air before her as Sakura allowed her eyes to slide shut. "Reveal to me thy true form. . ." The force of her magic began to make the room vibrate, as she moved her hands. "I, Sakura, command thee . . ."

The small star in the centre of the key span, as the wings extended, and the staff lengthened. Sakura's beautiful emerald eyes snapped open as she reached forward to grab her staff. 

"RELEASE!!"

Yue's wings twitched, and his breath deepened as he absorbed magic not only from Sakura but also from Touya's moon laced aura. He looked over at Ruby, who no doubt was reflecting his rather glazed expression. She stood opposite to him, to the west point. Between her and Keroberos, Eriol stood. He wore his red collared version of Touya's clothes. The large hat that had been handed down to him from Clow's time was changed from the dark blue borders to the deep, almost purplish, red that Tomoyo had decorated the rest of his uniform with. 

He raised his hand and his golden key floated up from his palm. The small gold key began to spin in his hand, as his potent gold magic circle spread out from under his feet. Magic laced up, and poured into his hand as he began to speak strongly. "O Key, Key of the Sun . . ." he lowered his hand, as the key began to spin dangerously faster. "Come to me. . ." 

Spinel jerked his head restlessly as Ruby's eyes lost their focus. Both their black tinted wings trembled nervously, as Eriol continued his incantation. "Reveal to me your power . . ." The spinning key slowed, and began to lengthen in the maelstrom of power, "Assist me now. . . Release!"

Sakura's white gold circle rotated slowly as Touya and Eriol's gold and azure circles overlapped hers. Magic resonated so brightly from all of them that the four guardians' magic circles, yellow gold, Ruby red, midnight blue and icy indigo, appeared faintly like shadows cast by the strength of three magicians. 

Sakura glanced over at Syaoran and Tomoyo, beneath their feet their magic circles; very different from the Clow-influenced circles, also appeared faintly. She smiled warmly. The room was filling with so much warmth and magic, that everyone's hair and clothes ruffled as if blown by an invisible breeze. Her smile faded as she stared down on Hei-ying's crumpled body. Only barely could she make out Hei-ying dim, green circle. It was as dark as his eyes, and not even visible in some places. She nodded slowly, "Hei-ying-san . . ." she murmured, "I will help you . . ." 

Closing her emerald eyes, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cards. She opened her hand, and quietly whispered her practiced incantations. "O, Cards of Mine . . . To this fallen angel be kind, lend him your strength enough to stand . . ." The cards glowed in her hand warmly, "Release!"

The cards floated out of her hand quickly and surrounded Hei-ying in a circle. They glowed and spun until they were nothing but white light. There was a loud intake of breath as Hei-ying's eyes opened, and the angel rolled onto his front. He groaned, as he pushed up and stared at the ground. His dark green eyes blinked once, as he raised his head weakly. The cards sparked brightly, their magic beginning to become visible as they streamed as much power to Hei-ying as they could. Eriol frowned, it was taking more magic than he predicted for Hei-ying. He sighed and glanced at the guardians. The four watched with avid interest.

Hei-ying finally sat back until he was on his heels. His arms were limp, as he raised one hand to stare at it with almost drunken fascination. 

"Guardians of the Sun, your duty is clear . . ." Eriol spoke, keeping his serious lavender grey eyes on Hei-ying. "Bind him with your cords to protect us . . ."

Keroberos and Spinel's jaws slackened and beads of orange flame and Ruby red energy formed whip thin ropes of enchantment and spun out toward Hei-ying. They cooled and wrapped tightly around him, Spinel's blood red rope tightened around Hei-ying's torso, clamping his arms to his side. Keroberos' was crueller and wrapped around Hei-ying's neck tightly, a silent warning between the brothers.

Touya tapped his staff on the floor, and both Ruby and Yue responded, their heads jerking up and loose strands of their hair flowing around them. 

"Guardians of the Moon . . . Your service is needed . . ." Touya breathed in, pausing in his incantation, "Bind him with your irons . . . to protect him . . ."

Pale hands came up simultaneously and cupped gently. Twin balls of rose pink and icy blue began to form in the guardians' hands. The sound of metal floated from them as delicate polished red and blue chains flowed from their hands, and wrapped around Hei-ying. Ruby's red chains wrapped around his waist and pinned his hands down, while Yue wrapped around his polished blue chain around his eldest brother's legs softly. The four guardians raised Hei-ying and supported him together, as they helped him float off the red-carpeted floor. Yue held his breath as Hei-ying's eyes, now a dull, unbearable bottle green, looked around the floor as he was forced to use the last of his magic for this spell. Yue wrapped his hands around his cool chain, and pulled it tight. The others grasped their bonds as well, and pulled. Keroberos snarled slightly and took a step back. He wasn't prepared to allow anything to go wrong.

Sakura stared into the face of the dark angel, the bruises on his pale face were stark, his eyes no longer the beautiful jade as she remembered. Despite their efforts and transferring of magic to him, Hei-ying's features seemed to fade a little more every day, getting paler and paler.

Beside her, Eriol stepped forward once more, his gold magic circle beginning to glow brighter. He raised his staff, and tapped it on the floor. Magical shockwaves resonated from the tip and illuminated Hei-ying's magic circle for a brief moment. He hummed quietly and then frowned as the circle faded again. Sakura glanced at Eriol as he lifted his free hand, "I command thee . . . Thy magic mark, appear to us. . ." 

Hei-ying's magic circle began to form again. Like his eyes, it was a dull colour, a horrid slimy green, darkened in patches. Some parts of the magic circle were missing entirely; Eriol frowned even deeper as he analysed the circle. 

"It's worse than I anticipated." Eriol admitted heavily, he shook his head as he pointed to various parts of the battered magic circle. "Parts of his memory and . . . some parts of the spells that created him aren't there . . ." He nodded, significantly, "The Obedience Spell, most notably . . ." He pointed to a large missing chunk of the circle, "That's been destroyed . . . see the edges around the hole?" They are jagged, "Torn from the place . . ." He motioned another piece, one that was neatly missing; the lines were like strings that had been cut. "Here, parts of his memory simply weren't brought back with him . . ." 

"What do you mean?"

 Sakura clutched her staff close to her chest, as she looked at the circle. Hei-ying's half destroyed magic circle almost brought tears to her eyes, when she saw it along side her own and the others. 

Eriol pointed to a part that was faded, darker than the rest of the circle. 

"This occurs when a creation dies. . . Hei-ying was brought back from the dead by a force I can't see, nor could I recognise . . . but . . ." He glanced up at Hei-ying, the fallen angel's head nodded slowly, as he tried slowly to follow the conversation. The fallen angel clearly couldn't understand what was being said, but could hear. Tomoyo pressed a button on her camera, and its quiet whirring stopped, she couldn't film Hei-ying. Not like this. A proud creation, no matter what he was responsible for in the past, deserved not to be caught at such a painful moment. She looked at her husband, as he continued thoughtfully, "Whoever did this left no physical, nor magical mark of the spell . . ." 

Touya nodded and tapped his staff on the floor again willing some of his magic to Hei-ying, and illuminating the magic circle again, "Perhaps he will know. . ." he looked at the faded parts, "If he hasn't forgotten . . . you say parts of his memory are missing, can you tell what?"

"Not yet. . ." Eriol raised his staff again, "We should complete the spell. . ." He swallowed hard, "Rejuvenating him will be harder than I thought it would be, but if you are willing—"

"Hai!" Sakura opened her eyes, "We must try our hardest!"

Eriol smiled at her, "Then everything will be okay, ne, Sakura-chan?"

"Un!" Sakura twisted her short staff around her wrist, and clamped her hands on it tightly. "Let's do our best! Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun, stay back!"

"Hai!" Tomoyo called back, as Syaoran nodded, his expression apprehensive.

Eriol breathed in deeply and allowed his eyes to slide close. "I command thee . . ." As magic began to swirl around his circle, the tall magician let his head fall back and raised his staff. The magic started to whip about, the gentle breeze of magic became a wild gale of power; Sakura and Touya paid intense concentration to his words as he spoke, "Hei-ying . . . The Guardian of the Stars . . ." 

The dark angel's head lolled toward Eriol as the dark blue haired magician continued to speak. Parts of Eriol's magic circle glowed painfully brightly and there was a quiet snap of magic as the lines doubled themselves, and the copied lines floated up. They rotated and twisted, reforming to fit in the missing parts of Hei-ying's circle. 

"With all the Supremacy of the stellar forces at thy command and thy will . . . come forth and be reborn . . ."

Hei-ying's dull olive green eyes rolled back in his head, as the magic circle below him began to change and shift. More lines joined them, and from the new lines, magic bleed into the dark faded parts of the magical mark.   

"I, Hiirawagizawa Eriol, have so chosen . . . Thy Master, Kinomoto Touya, calls to thee . . ." Eriol raised his staff above his head, and struck it down. "Release!!" 

The points of his sun struck some astral plane, causing bright gold ripples to spread out. It threw magic into the air wildly. Untamed, these strands of magic danced around Hei-ying. The angel's dull wings spread out from his back, and glowed dimly. As Spinel was forced to give the angel a bit of slack on his enchanted rope, Ruby grunted as Hei-ying jerked and pulled her forward. Keroberos snarled and jerked himself backward, trying to reign in Hei-ying's movements. "Sakura-chan!" He grunted, his voice muffled by the gold chain in his mouth, "Hurry!!" 

"I command thee. . ." Sakura raised her staff into the air, "Hei-ying, the Guardian of the Stars . . ." She glanced at Hei-ying as he turned his face to look at her, his dull eyes had slid shut now, "With all the supremacy of the stellar forces at your command and will . . . Come forth and be reborn!!" She sucked in a quick breath as heady magic coursed from her toward Hei-ying, "I, Kinomoto Sakura, have so chosen! Thy Master, Kinomoto Touya, calls to thee!!" She cried out quietly as she threw her might into pulling her staff down to strike the astral plane. "Release!!"

Parts of her star in the centre of her circle, like Eriol's, doubled and floated away. She gasped as the lines slowly rose around her, trailing behind them what looked like fine white embers. It sparkled before racing to Hei-ying, then glowed as they burnt themselves into new forms, reclaiming and stabilising Hei-ying's most basic spells. 

Iridescent magic blaze hotly as it rippled away from the Star staff and wrapped around Hei-ying. It ruffled his clothes this time, his hair whipped around him almost hiding him from view. It grew longer, snaking out like dark tendrils. The matted, dry hair now became shiny, and silken as magic flowed through him. Yue gasped as he was pulled forward, Hei-ying's legs twisting. Spinel closed his eyes and tried to concentrate harder on keeping Hei-ying pinned. 

Feeling his magic well up expectantly, Touya licked his lips and glanced at Yue, the moon guardian nodded to him. The eldest magician reached out with his free hand and grabbed his staff. "I command thee . . . Hei-ying, Guardian of the Stars. . ." he raised his staff with both arms, above his head. His magic circle extended eagerly, and overlapped Hei-ying's. Magic bled from icy blue, and flowed down every line of the dull jade, making it pulse hard. He held it so the end of his staff was straight over the part where their two magic circles overlapped. 

"With all the Supremacy of the stellar forces at thy command and will . . . Come forth and be reborn!!" He opened his eyes, to see that Hei-ying had twisted himself so he could face his new master. "I, Kinomoto Touya, have so chosen . . . I, thy new master, call to thee . . ." He brought his staff down hard, magic flowing from the silver moon symbol, the final part of the spell ringing clearly in his mind, "RELEASE . . . AND AWAKEN!!" 

Ice blue magic ripples sprung up from the floor as Touya slammed his staff down. He looked up as Hei-ying's hair suddenly flowed back; his wings spread and began to beat strongly. The angel's skin seemed to glow brightly, and he began to struggle more violently. His claw-like hands flexed as he wrenched at his bonds, his legs moved hard, frighteningly frantic as the fallen angel tried to get loose. The pale face of the creation seemed to glow, as the silken black hair was restored, Sakura gazed at him and saw a look of pain flash across his features, "Eriol-kun!!" She pointed to Hei-ying's throat, Keroberos' chain was beginning to cut the pale but vibrant flesh there, "He's bleeding!!" 

"Guardians!!" His voice seemed to fail him for a moment, but Eriol quickly shook his head and waved his free arm, "Release him!!"

Yue's magic bond snapped off, fading away into a fine, glowing dust. The magic hung in the air for a moment, before it shot toward Hei-ying like shooting stars. Fine rose red magic and dark blue flecks soon followed as Ruby and Spinel released their charge. Keroberos held on for a moment longer, but relented, as Hei-ying's struggles got stronger. His own gold rope dispersed and seemed to circle Hei-ying hesitantly before joining his elder brother. The cards glowed brightly, as they started to orbit around the guardian, rotating their circle slowly. The three magicians stepped back, as Hei-ying's new magic circle, now a strange mix of Sakura and Clow's magic circle appeared below his feet. It threw up strong jade green magic, as unseen gusts of magic worked around him strongly.  

There was another intake of breathe from the guardian as his lungs began to work properly.  

"Sakura-chan!" 

The emerald eyed card mistress blinked and looked past Hei-ying to see Tomoyo run forward.

"Nani?!" Sakura cried back, fearing something was going wrong. She looked at Eriol who looked curious, but calm. "Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong?!"

"Nothing . . ." Tomoyo smiled, "I just wonder if I could borrow your create card for a moment. . ."

"That's not possible while the cards are sealed!" Keroberos called back, roaring to make himself heard over the wild magic. "Only Sakura can use them!"

"I wonder . . ." Sakura said loudly over the noise of the spell, more to herself than anyone, "If it were possible to let Tomoyo-chan to use the cards with my permission . . ."

_"Watch out!!"_

Spinel called out suddenly, as Hei-ying turned to Sakura and raised his hand to her, his eyes were blank as they began to glow with magic. Sakura cried out as her staff started to pull away from her. "Na-nani?!" She looked at Hei-ying, "Why are you doing this?!"

He closed his hand and pulled back hard, pulling the staff out of her hands. It returned to its key form and hovered in front of him. 

"Why you---!!" Keroberos snarled, but paused as Eriol held up his hand.

"MATTE!!" Eriol yelled at him, "Hei-ying's only channelling Sakura's magic . . ." he shook his head, "he's not casting any malignant spells."

"Key . . ." Hei-ying spoke quietly, bright magic filtered out of his hand as he spoke, "Change, Mistress Sakura has so commanded. Release . . ."

He opened his hands, and the old staff of Clow appeared. Turning, Hei-ying stared at Tomoyo dully, "So, as Mistress Sakura has wished, you may use one card of your desire . . ." 

Tomoyo blinked as the old sealing staff floated toward her, Hei-ying clearly wasn't even aware of himself. Tomoyo frowned, and plucked the staff out of the air. She leant over slightly to peer at Sakura, who simply smiled delightedly, "Go for it, Tomoyo-chan!"

"Eetou . . ." Tomoyo swallowed, and looked at her husband. Eriol blinked, clearly amazed by this, but delighted. Syaoran stared on; concerned by the fact Hei-ying was capable of casting a spell that even Keroberos and Yue hadn't been aware of. Tomoyo squared her shoulders, and recalled some of Sakura's captures, "Create . . ." 

A card spun out of the orbiting circle of cards and floated in front of her face. Tomoyo raised the staff a little and spoke softly to the card, "Create for Hei-ying-san hair ties and a new robe . . ." she tapped it lightly, "Clow card!" 

The create card span, and jade green hair ties appeared, tying themselves into Hei-ying's now long hair. As the angel tipped his head back, the old fringe grew out, all traces of the old Hei-ying's obsessively kept hairstyle disappearing completely. Eriol opened his hand, and the jade green earring containing his false form was revealed. Hei-ying flung out his hand again and with a pulse of magic, the jade earring flew out of Eriol's hand and into Hei-ying's. Perfect pale toes touched the dark wood below him as Hei-ying lowered himself, his blank, jade eyes closing. 

The staff in Tomoyo's hand melted, and returned to Sakura in its true form. 

New long hair, the same length as Yue's fell to the floor with a soft thud, new robes finalised and fell into place as the magical winds that rustled them slowed, and died away. Shoulders squared, as bones straightened and strong muscles moved. Hei-ying's whole white wings stretched out impressively before they glimmered and disappeared, leaving behind only a few snow white feathers. The jade green magic circle faded away, as Hei-ying raised his hand and attached his earring to his ear. There was a moment of silence as the angel did this, everyone taking in the miraculous transformation. Keroberos blinked, as Hei-ying turned around. It was almost like looking straight into the past. This was Hei-ying as he was when Keroberos had first been created, before his insanity fully blossomed into something really dangerous, the calm, cool and poised Hei-ying he'd almost forgotten. Hei-ying gave a small sigh, half way between exasperated and reluctant. It was frighteningly similar to sighs that Yue was known to give. He turned to face Touya, his back perfectly straight, the faint rose pink of life flushing into his cheeks, as he raised a hand to rest on his hip. 

Yue's mouth fell slightly open, his amazement at seeing this completed version, this original version of his eldest brother managing to break through his usually calm and collected expression. He couldn't help but breathe the name of his brother, "Hei-ying . . ."

Hei-ying's jade green eyes slid open, burning intensely with magic, glowing - almost crackling - with his new power. 

The dark haired angel stared at his new master for a very long moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. He tilted his head slowly as he looked Touya up and down very gradually, taking in everything about his clothes and his staff. The angel blinked once as he met Touya's eyes again.

"You're . . ." Hei-ying's voice was quiet as he spoke, "You're not Clow . . ."

And with that . . . Hei-ying promptly collapsed.

"Can you wake him?"

"Touya should do it . . . he controls him now. . ."

"But you said it would be because of the Obedience Spell. . . even though I do feel him drawing power from me, I don't have the feeling that he will obey me . . ."

"I know. . ." There was a sigh, "The Obedience Spell is missing from his soul . . . I think it might have been destroyed. . ."

"How can he still exist if one of the basic spells that created him is gone?"

"It's not an exact science, Ruby . . . but there is some belief that if a guardian can destroy it himself, then he can survive . . ."

"Hoe. . . this is all so confusing. . ."

He opened his eyes slowly, the light, even though it was dim, still hurt his sensitive eyes. His head swam, buzzing with new magic. "Oh. . ." he raised a hand to steady his head, "wha . . .?"

"Shh. . ." A voice, familiar and warm, quietly soothed him. A warm hand pulled his own away and placed a cool damp cloth against his heated forehead. The scent of lavender struck him, making him open his eyes more. Focus came slowly, revealing to him a sight he thought he'd dreamt. Emerald green eyes stared down at him with worry. The magic that emanated for the owner of those eyes left him with little doubt, he'd found his sanctuary. He looked around at the others that surrounded him, a mixture of magicians and creations stood by his bedside. He swallowed, and tried to sit up. 

"Careful. . ." a girl with rose pink hair murmured as she and a white haired creation helped him to sit up. He glanced at them, and tried to place them in the myriad of memories that surfaced and drowned in his mind, "I know you . . ."

". . . yes. . ." The girl nodded slowly, "Do you remember my name?"

He frowned, looking for a name. "No . . ." he frowned, "But I . . ." his eyes widened and he felt his mouth fall open, "I don't remember my name . . . I mean, I . . ." he shivered, "I don't know . . ."

"It's okay. . ." the dark blue haired man said, he leant forward, his voice was the same as the one who knew so much about magic. He reached forward and his hand glowed just in front of his face. The nameless creation on the bed balked away from the magic, knowing that it supplemented his existence, and yet . . .

"That's good," the blue haired boy murmured, "Sakura-chan. . . you try it. . ."

Sakura, the emerald eyed girl whose presence comforted him, nodded and reached forward in the same gesture. Her hand glowed warmly, the magic resonated with his own but still it didn't draw him near. Sakura blinked and looked at the other boy, "Eriol-kun?"

Eriol smiled, "t worked. . . Touya, now you. . ."

Touya, a tall, much older than the rest, blue eyed magician reached forward, and held up his hand. The magic didn't resonate with his own magic as much as Sakura's did, but it drew him. He stayed put, not shying away as he had with the others. There was a command to stay in the moon-influenced magic. 

Touya blinked and glanced at Eriol, Hei-ying stared his hand, his expression dulling. 

"He's responding . . .?"

"Yes." Eriol nodded, "Put him to sleep, we need to discuss what's going to happen next . . . you will need a little help with looking after a guardian, particularly a fully grown one who was never destined to be under your power." 

Touya nodded and raised his hand in a gesture he'd seen Eriol perform, "Sleep . . ."

"Why . . ." Hei-ying blinked slowly, "who. . .?"

Keroberos watched with a grim expression as Hei-ying's features slackened. "He's too dangerous. . ." he rumbled darkly, "We shouldn't tamper with the way fate has dealt with this creation's life . . ."

"We haven't done the tampering. . ." Yue murmured as he dropped a hand onto the lion's head, "We've only fixed it . . ."

Hei-ying passed in and out of consciousness over the next few days.

As he grew stronger, and Touya sat with him more often, he gradually began to awaken. He stared into the faces of the people that cared for him, and spoke very little. Hei-ying was gaining more and more strength as the days passed. Keroberos rarely looked in on him, but accompanied Yue on his visits. They sat and watched as Hei-ying slept, but when he awoke, Keroberos stalked from the room refusing to face his elder brother. 

In the meantime Touya was taught commands to use with the guardian, safe words that would stop Hei-ying in an emergency and how much magic he'd need to transfer to Hei-ying over time. Touya sighed as Sakura popped her head around the door to the study, and looked in on his training. "Why didn't Sakura need any of this training?"

"Because when she received the guardians, not only were they destined for her use . . ." Eriol flicked over a page in his book and handed it to Touya to read, "But also they transferred their ownership to her gradually over time . . . Keroberos, by his acceptance of her as the Cardcaptor, and Yue by his acceptance that she was the card mistress . . . both of them came to depend on her entirely when Clow Reed's soul finally dissipated . . ." 

"That simple . . ." Touya sighed as Sakura entered the room, "What is it kaijuu?"

"I'm not a monster!" Sakura shook her fist at her brother, and then glanced down at her feet, blushing slightly, "Ano . . . if you are done for the day, dinner is ready . . ." she smiled at her brother, "I'm going to wake Hei-ying and see if he'd like to join us, he's been cooped up in that room for far too long . . . if that's okay with you . . .?"

Raising an eyebrow, Touya glanced at Eriol who shrugged, clearly gesturing that it was up to Touya. The dark haired magician sighed, "Hai, it's okay."

Sakura nodded and sprinted off. She was hoping he'd agree. She ran into the lobby, and paused to look at the new floor. It was still dark wood with a magic circle burnt into it. But instead of it just being Clow's gold magic circle, the circle had been changed to include all who lived there. The metal used to fill the groves divided parts of the circle up, but the patterns flowed into one another. Sakura's part of magic circle was white gold, a strange white sort of silver; it glittered like a star when you looked at it from above. Near hers, Syaoran's family mark was engraved with jade metal. Eriol's was a deep rich gold, it was always warm to the touch for some reason, his part of the circle held the symbol of the sun, with one small addition of a Ruby-lined moon, and a glinting lilac coloured metal lavender flower. Touya's magic circle was mostly taken up with the moon, and was a strange blue silver. At night, it was enchanted to react to moonlight and anyone who had magic influenced by it. It glowed powerfully with muted blue magic. 

Sakura smiled, as she brought out her key. She was getting used to living here.

With a few words, Sakura soon had her staff. Almost without active thought, she reached into her pocket and brought out a card; "Fly!!"

Pale pink wings grew out of her back, and she fluttered up to the fourth floor easily. 

Syaoran was on the third floor, looking down as she came up, and she paused in the air. He smiled, "Visiting the guardians?"

"Hai!" Sakura fluttered closer to the banister and reached out to grab his hand, "It's dinner time, please go down without me . . . I'm going to get Hei-ying-san. . ."

"Do you think he'll be up to it?"

"He will! He's getting stronger!!" Sakura clenched her hand tightly, "I'm going to ask him now!"

Syaoran nodded, gazing up after her as she ascended. Keroberos wouldn't be pleased about this . . .  

He blinked his eyes opened as the knock came to his door, "Hello?"

Sakura pushed the door open, magic wings fading from her back as she entered. "Aah!" She smiled fully, and came over to his bedside, "How are you, today, Hei-ying-san?"

"I'm well . . ." He stared at her, before nodding, "How are you . . ." he tilted his head slightly as he looked off to the side, thinking, " . . . Sakura?"

"Ha! You remember me!! I told you it would be no time before you remember me!!" She winked happily and sat on his bedside. Hei-ying smiled weakly, she was so confidant he'd remember everything. He sighed and motioned vaguely, "I suppose so . . ."

"Eh!" Sakura pouted good naturedly, "You won't be able to if you don't believe in yourself!!" She bounced on his bed slightly, "Rei! Rei! Gan-ba-tte!!" 

"Now you sound too much like Keroberos!" Hei-ying snorted scornfully before blinking, the words coming out before he even knew what they meant. Sakura looked at him strangely for a moment, but Hei-ying didn't really understand. Keroberos was a sulky character who never stayed around long enough to even talk to him, why would he compare this bright star to a gloomy cloud? 

"I'm sorry . . ." Hei-ying murmured, "I didn't know what I was—"

Sakura squeaked, "Sugoi!! You remember Keroberos' character!! You'll get there, I'm sure of it!!" She grabbed his hand, "Can you get dressed and come down for dinner!! Tomoyo, Yuki-kun and Ruby made it; it's going to be so tasty!!"

"Yukito . . . the other version of Yue, and Ruby the other version of Nakuru?"

"Hai!"

He thought for a moment, "Will anyone mind?" He thought of Keroberos, unsure that the angry lion would want him there.

"Iie!! Please!" Sakura grasped his hand tightly; "It's not good for you to be in here all the time!!"

Staring at her thoughtfully, Hei-ying swallowed, her intense magic making his opposition to the idea disappear easily, "Okay . . ." he found himself agreeing, "I'll just get changed . . ."

Dinner was a tense affair and Hei-ying spent most of it staring into his soup. 

He just couldn't join in any conversation, and Keroberos was watching him like a hawk, taking every sarcastic comment and cruel insult he could to aim at Hei-ying. The dark angel sat there and wondered why he was the centre of Keroberos' hate, he was aware that he'd had two lives before this third reincarnation, one where he'd lived in England with a man called Clow Reed . . . and the second when he'd lived with a woman called Mystrasa Kyree. Yet neither could he remember. 

Hei-ying sighed and lifted his head as Keroberos lapped at his drink. 

The lion paused as he sense he was being watched. Hei-ying's jade green eyes were narrowing slightly. "Eh?" Kero lifted his head further and straightened, his furry features showed mocking concern as he asked in German, "Was ist los, meine Scheisse aelter bruder?"  

The reaction was instantaneous, Hei-ying's upper eyelids twitched slightly as he retorted almost instantly, "Du bist eine dick Haus Katze! Du tust mir leid, du bist sehr haesslich!" Hei-ying smirked unpleasantly, unknown connections in his mind snapping into place as he stood, "Verdammt ausgestopft Spielzeug!!"

"Was?! Du Scheisse Daemon!!" Keroberos snarled ferociously, and upset his bowl of soup, as he slammed his paws on the table, "Ich habe nicht aber hass fur Du!! Mit Ihnen bin ich fertig!" 

"Es ist mir schnuppe." Hei-ying snorted back and tossed his head, "Ich habe nicht aber hass fur du auch!!" He turned his glare on Yukito and snarled, as he motioned the snow bunny, "Und Dein kleine Mondstrahl! Er ist mir ein Dorn im Auge!"

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked, "Kero-chan. . . Hei-ying san? What's wrong?"

"Ihm ist nicht mehr zu helfen." Keroberos replied coldly, before looked at Sakura. She stared at him with wide eyes, the hate in Keroberos' usually warm gold eyes made her shy away, she glanced over at Hei-ying, as the dark angel looked at her with weariness. He sighed and shook his head as he sank back into his chair, "Sie haben nicht begreife . . . wir ansprechen auf japanisch. . ." he tilted his head, and snapped frigidly to Kero, "in Ordnung?"

Keroberos sighed sharply, before growling back, "Wenn Sie nichts dagegen haben."

"Das ist schon wahr."

The two refused to look at each other, and the table descended into silence again. Yukito blinked and his eyes rolled back in his head as Yue appeared, he stared coolly at both brothers before snapping coldly, "If you two have quite finished . . ." he stared at Hei-ying, "I thought you didn't remember anything . . ."

"Strange what you can remember when that stuffed animal stops treating you indifferently." Hei-ying sighed sharply; "I remember him and you now. You are my little brothers, created by Master Clow to be the Cardcaptor's guard and judge." He sucked in his bottom lip, unable to take his eyes off Keroberos, "he broke my wing—"

"Only because you tried to kill us!" Keroberos retorted loudly, "You seem to forget that fact quite easily, bastard brother!"

"Kill you?!" Hei-ying's eyes widened, "I've never—"

"STOP LYING!" Keroberos roared ferociously and jumped up, "YOU BASTARD, STOP LYING!!"

Hei-ying was silent for a moment before he stood. "Evidently my memory hasn't been as recovered as you think it has . . ." Hei-ying sniffed disdainfully, "The last thing I remember is you breaking my wing, that brat –" he motioned Yue absently, "- crying because I threatened to cut off your ridiculous little tail, and Master Clow refusing to fix my wing. He sent you and I to our rooms, and stayed with that brat. I went to sleep, and that is the last thing I remember."

"Oh. . ." Keroberos grinned darkly, "Then you don't remember trying to kill our little moonbeam, don't remember Clow rejecting you?"

"Master Clow would never reject me!" Hei-ying folded his arms and looked around, "Where is he? He'd tell you himself, where is Master Clow?"

Keroberos' grin grew darker as he hissed, "Clow's dead."

"Kero-chan!" Sakura rushed to her feet, she glanced at Hei-ying as the angel slowly turned his head back to Keroberos. He looked as if someone had just punched him. ". . . Wh-what?"

"Clow Reed died a very long time ago; Yue and I were there." Keroberos raised an eyebrow, "You weren't because he rejected you."

"I don't believe you . . ." Hei-ying whispered, pain in his voice, "I don't believe you . . ." he looked at Yue, "Is this true, little brother, is this true?"

Yue stared at Hei-ying for a very long moment, his amethyst eyes wide and sincerely sorry before he hung his head, unable to answer. 

Sakura shook her head, "Kero-chan! That was too cruel!!"

"He deserved it." Keroberos sank back into his seat, and resumed eating. 

Hei-ying stood stone still, and looked from each face, "Is this true? Is The Master Clow Reed dead?"

"Hai."

 Eriol picked up his napkin, and dabbed at his mouth, he looked up at Hei-ying sincerely; "I was his reincarnation until a few years ago. Hei-ying, you were sealed away because you'd become dangerous; Clow died twenty years after your sealing. Clow has been dead for quite some time now."

Hei-ying made a quiet strangled noise deep in his throat. His jade eyes were wide.

"Keroberos . . ." Sakura pursed her lips, "How could you? Couldn't you have wai—"

"Sakura." Hei-ying turned to her; "You are the card mistress now, correct?"

She looked at him, his jade green eyes were moist, but Hei-ying was composed. Sakura nodded, "Hai, I am."

"Then I've missed a lot it would seem . . ." Hei-ying smiled somewhat ruefully. He sank back into his seat, and stared into his soup again. "Keroberos . . ."

The lion looked up again, swallowing slowly. Hei-ying nodded dreamily.

"I should have drowned you when I had the chance . . ." he looked up slowly and stared at the sun guardian, "Even when Master Clow came back, I should have drowned you . . . at least I would have had the satisfaction of knowing I'd killed you before Master Clow sealed me away."

"Son of a bitch!"

Hei-ying smiled ruefully, "I regret many things . . . and not killing you is utmost on my list . . ." He sighed again, and stood. He breathed in calmly, "I will retire to my room. I wish to think . . . and remember . . ."

The group watched as the dark angel retired from the room. Spinel glanced at Keroberos, who still seethed at the door, "Keroberos, that was cold . . . a horrible cold thing to do to your brother . . ."

"It was the next best thing I could do . . . aside from kill him." 

Keroberos closed his eyes sullenly and resumed eating, ignoring the looks from everyone else. 

-------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!

DrM: [glomps]

Hei-ying: [groans, and muffledly cries out] Noooooo!! Not me! Not meeeeee!! I was happier dead!! Now I've gotta relive all this angst!! Noooooooo!

DrM: [grins happily] but angst is good!

Hei-ying: [sighs and mutters to self] All I wanted was to sleep the eternal damned sleep, was that so much to ask?

DrM: [very seriously] . . . Yes.

Hei-ying: [growls] Damn you . . . [turns to readers] Please R&R and tell her what you think . . .

DrM: [oblivious to veiled threat] Yeah, I wanna know!!


	7. Pale Ghost

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania.

Chapter Six: Pale Ghost

This house . . . These people . . . This time . . . nothing . . . no-one . . . alone . . . so very alone . . . ten years of memories, memories of when he was sure he was being loved assaulted him as he stiffly climbed the stairs, too distracted to call for his wings. His hand ran along the wall as he walked. The silence of the corridors amplified his thoughts, screaming them back to him . . .

Alone . . . this time wasn't his . . . So very alone . . . these people he didn't know . . . he was alone . . . this house wasn't his at all. 

Master Clow's absence was the chill in the air.  

Hei-ying pressed his hand against his mouth as soon as he entered his room.

It was true. It was horribly true . . . 

Knees weakened and trembling gave out; he sank to the ground and crawled over to his bed, burying his face into the soft blankets as he let out a painful wail. His creator, his handsome creator was dead . . . Master Clow Reed, master magician and creator of the cards, was dead and worse . . . Hei-ying couldn't attend his master at his deathbed.

His wail got louder as he began to beat the bed with his fists, hot tears spilling from his face. His head started to ache horribly; it hurt so much it felt like it was going to explode with the pressure. Howling into the sheets, stifling the great rasping cries of rage and anguish that he made sure – absolutely, positively sure – that these intrusive strangers would not hear. His face was hot. His head pounded as his wail got louder. His throat became so sore it wheezed. Fists convulsively clutched the blankets to his mouth, as if somehow they could absorb and empty himself of the sounds he made. But the grief did not leave him; only, finally, his strength, and he lay there gasping. . . He couldn't understand, didn't want to understand. It was true but he didn't want it to be, he never wanted it to be true. Master Clow Reed was immortal. Master Clow Reed would last forever. He wouldn't reject his most perfect creation and yet . . . blatantly, he had! His master had left him, rejected him – the sum of Master Clow's creative perfection – in favour of some boisterous, idiot lion and a simpering, pathetic *child*!! Hei-ying wanted to scream with rage, wanted to kill both of them, everyone in this house, destroy everything in sight . . . and yet . . . all that came were the endless hot tears . . .

So caught up was he in his pain, he didn't notice the door quietly open and close.

Warm hands touched his head and smoothed his hair down, "Oh . . ." Murmured a quiet feminine voice, "It's okay, please cry until you can't cry any more . . ."

Hei-ying paused in his wailing to look up and see the tumbling purple locks of Tomoyo Hiirawagizawa; she smiled at him slightly and touched his face gently. "I know how hard it must be to feel this . . . Please, let all your painful emotions out . . ."

He stared at her, wanting to hate this beautiful girl for her pity. He never wanted anyone's pity; he was a creation of Master Clow Reed, master magician! Hei-ying didn't need her . . .

"I . . . loved him . . ."

He frowned deeply; not understanding whom the softly spoken words had come from. Her lips remained closed; it wasn't from her the disgustingly pathetic words flowed. He was horrified as more came. "I . . . *loved* him . . . The most . . ." 

She smiled slightly, with understanding, as she nodded. Her voice was soothingly calming.

"You never thought Clow could ever leave you . . . not after so long . . ."

Her words made more horrible tears leak from his eyes. He stared at her wide-eyed, the words almost calmly spoken like his breaking heart found one stronghold in his mind so he could speak with a little dignity, "I loved him . . . so *much* . . ."

"You thought it would be forever . . ." She smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry . . . sorry that you were misled . . ."

"That awful monster . . . that whining brat . . . everything . . ." Hei-ying squeezed his eyes shut tightly as she moved to sit closer. He bit his lip, trying not to lose his control before this worthless human. He breathed in hard before something in his heart broke, "Everything was fine until they came!! Until they came, I was so happy!!" 

"They're your brothers . . . it's hard to accept that Clow had enough love for them as well . . ."

"NO!!" Hei-ying shook his head violently before dipping it to look down from her pity filled eyes. He curled his fists tightly, pressing his nails hard into his palms, "I loved him more than they could, and . . ." He shook his head violently, "And I never wanted to give him up!"

Her hands came out and touched his head, making him blink his eyes open again, "It hurts . . . doesn't it?" Hei-ying scowled at her. He moved back a little and hissed, "You could never know what it's like to love someone as deeply as I loved Master Clow!"

She smiled a little as she continued regardless, "And it hurts to know that maybe he was falling in love with someone else . . ."

"I loved him more than anyone could, I would do anything for him!"

". . . So much pain, and yet . . ." She moved a little closer to him, and reached out to touch his cheek, "Don't you think Clow deserved to be happy? . . . happy with the one that made his heart beat the hardest . . .?"

"He was happy!! He was happy with . . ." Hei-ying raged impotently, his fingernails squeezing painfully into his hands, "We were . . . so . . . I loved him more . . . I loved him the most . . ." 

Her sad smile turned bittersweet as she reached out and placed a finger against his lips and whispered softly, "I know . . . I believe you . . ."

This struck something in Hei-ying, something resonated as he protested, "I loved him more than Yue ever could . . ." He raised his fists, wanting to strike out at her and was horrified as he reached for her, "Yue wasn't *me*, he was never *anything* like me . . . Master Clow told me . . . he told me I was his most perfect creation . . ."

"I believe you . . . Hei-ying, I believe you . . ."

"And I . . . I never wanted to leave him . . ." Hei-ying crumpled and fell into her lap. The soft folds of her skirt cushioned his cheek and muffled his cries, "I loved him . . . I never wanted to let him go . . . he asked me never . . . never to let him go . . ."

Tomoyo sighed softly as the dark angel wept. She watched over him, as Hei-ying broke down again and sobbed and screamed and shook and shuddered and did this until he could cry no more until he fell into a fitful sleep, marred with dreams of his handsome creator, his warm touches and his ever present beautiful, secret smile.

Sakura followed Keroberos until they were alone. 

He sighed as they sat in an unused room with large windows and a large fireplace, which lit up upon their entery, providing some light in the darkness. Keroberos sat on the warm, dark red rug and sighed again as he rested his chin on his furry paws. He stared at Sakura as she thought for a long moment. He had some idea what she was going to say already and began to think about how to explain his answer in the clearest terms.  

"Kero-chan . . ." She began, disappointment clear in her beautiful emerald eyes. "Kero-chan, that was so . . . nasty of you . . ."

"Sakura, what I do is what I do . . . I can't change my ways . . ."

"Kero-chan, that was horrible, really horrible, even if you hate him . . ." Sakura frowned as she stepped closer to him, "I can't believe that you are the same person, Kero-chan wouldn't do this to someone . . . even Meilin-chan who you didn't like so much, you never treated her in such a way . . ."

"With Meilin, I only joked . . . But with *him*!" Keroberos jerked his head upwards, motioning the ceiling above, "He tried to kill me and my little brother, I didn't trust him then . . . I would never trust him now . . ."

Sakura knelt by him and patted his head, "Then why don't you try to help him instead?" She looked into his eyes, "Stop letting yourself fall to that level and try to bring him up to yours? Hei-ying has been given a new chance . . . Why not help him become someone you will be proud to call your brother?"

Keroberos stared at her for a very long moment and then considered the flames in the fire before murmuring gravely, "For Sakura-chan . . ." He sighed heavily and looked at her sincerely with earnest gold eyes, "I will try . . . I will try to help him, but I will never be proud to call him my brother . . ." He looked into the fire again and sighed as Sakura rested against his body. He stared as the flames danced and twisted around themselves. He shook his head slowly before continuing, "I don't want to."

"Keroberos is being pig headed, and Hei-ying is letting Keroberos get to him!"

Yue shook his head as he paced back and forth across Touya's room. "Arrogant morons!" He threw his hands into the air and turned to Touya, "What can I do? My older brothers remember nothing but hate for each other and Hei-ying remembers only what I don't know . . ." He shook his head again, his wings trembling with his irritation, "Foolish, pig headed . . . Fools! Nothing but petty fools!!"

From the writing desk, Touya sighed as he flipped a page over in the latest incantation book he'd been given, "Will you sit down please?" He turned to glance at the irate guardian with tired, sapphire blue eyes, "You are throwing off my concentration." 

The moon angel paused and put a hand on his hip, "I'm sorry, To-ya . . ." He closed his eyes tiredly and raised a hand to press against his beautiful eyes, "I . . . we, Yukito and I just want . . ."

Touya got up, and wrapped his arms around his lover's guardian form, "Why not try to sleep for a while . . ."

Yue's body melted against his as he allowed some of his moon laced magic seep into the guardian. Yue sighed quietly and tipped his head back until it lay on Touya's collarbone. "I just want . . ."

Touya blinked, it had been years since Yue or Yukito had used that voice, a strange combination of their voices. 

The angel stared at the ceiling, not really aware he was talking, not really aware that his eyes were amber tinged at the edges, that he was speaking with his true voice . . .

"I just want my family . . . my brothers . . . Is it so much to ask just to see my brothers once more as Clow saw them . . .?"

Touya held the being closer as he felt a wet tear slide down from Yue's cheek and splash against his neck. "Shh . . ."

"To-ya . . ." Yue groaned quietly, as he turned in the taller man's arms and looked up at him, "I just want to be a normal family, To-ya, why can't I make it happen?" 

The side of Touya's mouth tugged, in part with irony, part with humour, part with grief.

"No family is 'normal'. Everyone has their own problems. Although Hei-ying's are more obvious than most . . . " he admitted quietly. He swallowed as Yue gave a soft moan and pressed his hand against his mouth. Touya's mouth fell open as he stared at the being before him, the lost child - forever hidden behind Yue's distant frowns and Yukito's permanent smiles - suddenly revealed himself and Touya found he almost didn't recognise Yue or Yukito . . . that the two were both missing, both present in this person who stood before him. Was this the true version of Yue? The Little Moonbeam, the Snowy One combined finally?

The angel took another step forward and fell into Touya's arms, his transformation into Yukito following quickly as Yue hid himself and allowed Yukito to take over. Yukito blinked and stared around dazedly, focused on Touya and sighed, "Yue's going to sleep, he's very drained . . ."

The tall magician nodded, and lifted a hand to rub his eyes wearily, "Tonight was a disaster . . ."

"I know . . ." Yukito looked up at him, and wrapped his arms around Touya's waist, more for his own comfort. Yue was more than emotionally drained, he was exhausted and quietly crying by himself, more than he'd ever heard of the stoic angel and Yukito felt more than a little fearful. For Yue more than himself. Yue was desperate to fix his broken family, and this dinner was something he'd been looking forward to. Yukito closed his eyes and wished for once that he could remember his early life, before Touya, before he came to Japan . . . the first day he opened his eyes and was aware that he was . . . there . . .

_"Yukito?"_

_He blinked and looked up the stairs. Clow stood there in all his magician's finery. The magician smiled, "how are you feeling today?"_

_Yukito looked at his hands, the bruises were fading. "I'm feeling better . . ." He paused and sucked in his lip, the singing on the fourth floor had started up again. He looked up, as Clow did. While Clow frowned and walked down the stairs, Yukito smiled a little. He liked the singing; Yukito thought that it was very beautiful, haunting but eerily beautiful. Sometimes at night, it was very scary, as it echoed throughout the house but during the day when he played on the stairs as close to the forbidden floor as he could, Yukito listened to the music. _

_Clow and Keroberos said that the singing wasn't there . . . and yet they reacted to it. _

_Yukito thought it was strange, the way Keroberos would come along and drag Yukito down the stairs, away from the singing with forced cheer, exclaiming loudly that there was something beautiful to see outside._

_Even Clow didn't like the singing ghost. _

_As the song struck up again, Clow walked down the stairs and picked up Yukito, walking down the stairs instantly, leaving his toys behind. _

_Yukito had seen the ghost once . . . or at least he thought he had. _

_It was one wintery afternoon and Yukito was bundled up against the encroaching cold. Keroberos gathering leaves with Clow, and Yukito had come along to the orchard to pick up some leaves. He'd felt a chill, and looked up to the mansion. There, on the fourth floor, standing in a window was a very pale-faced person. Black hair obscured half of his face, and his black clothes made him seem not really there. The pale-faced ghost stared only at him, a small smile lighting his face. _

_Yukito remembered the pale hand that came up and waved slowly._

_But what he couldn't understand was why he started to whimper, why he was suddenly frozen to the spot, why he began to tremble all over before finally shrieking horribly. The ghost scared him and scared something deep inside of him as well. Not only was he screaming, but inside his mind, he heard another voice moaning quietly, his voice filled with fear and complete dread. _

_The ghost in the window laughed at him, his face twisting as he laughed. Pale hands came up and pressed against the window as the ghost kept staring at him with a single, wide eye. His hair tipped back to reveal raw, red clawed marks where once resided another eye._

_The next thing he knew, Keroberos and Clow landed nearby and ran over to him. Clow wrapped his arms around his trembling form; Keroberos encircled his wings around him as if it would protect him. Before gold tinged feathers obscured his sight, Yukito saw the ghost – suddenly calm – melt back into the darkness of the room. _

_His wide jade green eye staring at him until it too was swallowed by the haunting blackness._

_Deep within the mansion, winding around the empty dusty corridors like a fine mist, the song . . . the hauntingly beautiful song of the pale ghost began anew . . ._

Yukito awoke.

He heart was pounding in his chest and his cheeks were damp. He tasted salt on his lips and knew he had cried. Touya was lying dead to the world, his soft snores floating in the room. They had chosen to sleep in Yue/Yukito's room tonight, partly to keep Yue at least calm and partly because no one trusted Keroberos or Hei-ying to go the night without trying to kill each other.

He looked at the clock on their bedside table. He smiled slightly; Keroberos would have complained that it was heinously early in the morning at two thirty five. He shuffled and slipped his slippers on. 

Glancing over at the window, Yuki saw pale moonlight filter through the gaps in the thick curtains. The pale milky blue of the moonlight was beautiful upon the gauzy thin net curtains drawn across the wide windows. They fluttered slightly as a slow breeze cooled the room from the open window, making the air taste a little crisper and sweeter than when they'd gone to bed. He sighed and shook his head as Yue murmured that they wouldn't be able to sleep anyway . . .

A shuffled noise from the other side of the room caught his attention.  

Yukito and Yue weren't the only ones awake at such a heinous time in the morning. 

"I thought you might be hungry . . . you didn't finish dinner . . ."

Hei-ying blinked and looked up at the voice of his youngest brother. Yukito smiled as he pushed the door open further, and carried the tray in. He walked over to the dresser, and placed it down. "I brought some bread as well, to go with the soup . . ."

"Aren't you afraid that I will kill you . . .?"

Yukito looked up, and stared into the mirror. The voice of his eldest brother was slightly broken, exhausted from used up emotion. Hei-ying was slouched in the chair; the pale-faced ghost from his nightmare earlier was slouched in the chair, his body hidden in the shadows of the room. The dark angel stared at him with red-rimmed eyes, his right hand's fingertips pressed against his temple. "Not really, I'm sure you'd try hard but . . ." Yukito shook his head, "Yue can defend me. He's very strong."

Hei-ying blinked, and continued to stare before answering. "I forget that you've grown up . . ." He closed his eyes and raised his knees up. He curled in his chair and for a moment looked terribly lost. "I remember breaking his finger . . . threatening to kill both you and Keroberos if either of you spoke a word of it to Master Clow . . ." He shuffled in his seat, and leant his chin on his thin knees. "I remember vividly the fear in their eyes, the power I held over them . . ." Hei-ying closed his eyes and murmured, "I have a feeling that I have very little to remember after that . . ."

Yukito turned and stared at Hei-ying for a moment. He stepped forward; "Do you feel like you want to kill me?"

Hei-ying opened his eyes, and stared at Yukito dolefully, "No . . . I feel like I want to die."

"No!" Yuki stepped forward, his hands out beseeching, his amber eyes wide open. Hei-ying jerked a little at the force behind the normally soft-spoken human form. Yukito paced forward, "Don't wish for that . . . you were alive now, make the most of it!" 

Hei-ying declined to answer, content apparently to watch Yukito as he approached Hei-ying slowly. The snow rabbit frowned, "You should never wish to die. . . because if you die, there is no hope. I don't care how you feel." He turned intense golden eyes on him. Hei-ying felt his mouth dry and the faint metallic taste of vomite touch the back of his throat as he gazed into the amber depths of his younger brother's eyes. They were so bright. . . so much brighter than his own. "There is still hope. And other people hope for you, if you can't."

His elder brother breathed in once, before stretching and uncurling from the chair. He stood, and walked silently past to the dresser. Yukito sighed, and turned to watch his elder brother as the dark angel picked at the bread and dipped a small piece into the warm soup. Hei-ying chewed on it disinterestedly before murmuring, "Not too bad . . ." He sighed and turned to face Yuki. "Listen to me, Tsukishiro Yukito."

Hei-ying motioned the bed, and Yukito stared at him for a long moment, before sitting on the very end of the bed. The dark angel walked over and knelt in front of his younger brother, staring intently into his wide amber eyes. 

"Consider this situation from my point of view."

Hei-ying glanced off to the window; the strong moonlight still filtering through his heavy dark green curtains. He glanced back at Yukito and continued in a soft voice wearily, "As far as I am concerned, my youngest brother has just left his incantation lesson . . . my youngest brother is about the size of a five year old human, he can barely fly straight, he consistently pronounces his own title wrong, and he . . ." Hei-ying paused and stared at Yukito intently, "He wasn't aware there was a difference between his false form and his true . . ."

"Yukito looked down, we can't help it . . ." He murmured quietly. Glancing up, Yuki stared Hei-ying in the eye. "I am no longer Yue's false form . . . I am his human form just as he is my Guardian form . . ." 

"Semantics . . ." Hei-ying dismissed coldly, "The core point is that you are of two minds now, when you were of one mind when I was around . . ."

Yukito dipped his head slightly, "Perhaps to you . . . it is the difference between words . . ." He tapped his chest, "But to us, it is the difference between our souls . . ."

"This too is different, I don't remember it . . ." Hei-ying waved his hand slightly, as if to clear the air. He paused, and looked down for a moment, ". . . Perhaps I will . . ." Hei-ying fell silent for a moment, he raised an hand and stroked the dapple grey locks of his youngest brother before continuing, "As far as I am concerned, my younger brother, Keroberos, is a lanky teenaged lion who doesn't trust me as far as he can throw me . . . my creator is the Master Clow Reed, who is currently in the study, probably writing books for the future Cardcaptor about how to capture the cards, how to deal with me, the Advisor, Keroberos the guardian beast of the seal, and Yue the judgement maker . . ." Hei-ying paused and tilted his head, "I have just broken Yue's finger because of a mistake, and have forbidden Yue or Keroberos to speak of it to The Master, Clow Reed." 

Yukito blinked, and nodded slightly, "I understand . . ."

"Do you?" Hei-ying shook his head, "I don't think so . . . it feels like just yesterday, but 'just yesterday' is nearly five hundred years ago . . . can you honestly say you understand me?" He stood and walked over to the dresser again, picking at the bread, "It feels like I blinked and suddenly you and Yue are nearly as tall as I, Keroberos is fatter and . . ." Hei-ying smiled sardonically and turned, his eyes held a glimmer of humour as he laughed weakly, "And where on earth did he get that ridiculous accent?!"

Yukito smiled warmly, "Osaka . . . the book was left in Osaka for a while . . ."

Hei-ying smiled a little more and raised a hand to his eyes, "I guess . . ." His voice caught in his throat for a moment, "I guess that's one thing. . . that I can be grateful for . . ."

The smile faded from Yukito's face as Hei-ying slowly began to weep. 

Hei-ying shrugged and wiped quickly at his eyes, turning his back on his youngest brother. "I should be grateful that I wasn't sealed in the book or I'd have such a silly accent!" He laughed a little mirthlessly, "And I would have been trapped in that book with the fat little furball!" Yukito got up, and placed his hands on Hei-ying's shoulders. They were trembling. 

"Oniichan . . ."

Hei-ying jerked out of Yukito's grasp and stepped away, "Don't touch me!" He clasped his hands over his eyes and cried out, "Don't even look at me!" The dark angel stepped away from him and pressed his back against the curtains until he stumbled. There was a loud ripping noise as Hei-ying crumpled to the floor and the curtains came down with him.

The doors fly open as Keroberos bounded in, growling loudly. "Hei-ying!" He stopped as he saw Yukito standing by the dresser and Hei-ying crumpled on the floor. Yukito's eyes were wide open and his mouth was falling open with shock. Keroberos padded over and licked Yukito's limp hand, "What's wrong, little one?"

"Oniichan . . ." Yuki breathed quietly, "Hei-ying's upset . . ."

"Hey! Keroberos!!" Ruby Moon huffed in the doorway, she walked over and raised her fist, "Can't you just leave Hei-ying alone for a night?! Can't you see he's a wreck already?!" 

"What?!" Keroberos roared back at her, "I've done nothing!! I heard a noise and—"

"Hai, hai!" Spinel snapped irritably from the doorway, "You realise you are all waking up the masters!" He padded in and stood by his sister, "What's wrong with him now?"

Yukito frowned and closed his mouth. He walked over toward Hei-ying's form slowly, ignoring the hissed warnings from his brother Keroberos. "Hei-ying? Are you okay?"

Hei-ying trembled for a moment longer before it all ceased. There was commotion from the next room and from downstairs as the humans began to wake up and come up the stairs. Hei-ying stared at the carpet for a second, an idea forming in his mind. He pushed up and continued to stare at the floor.

"Hei-ying?" Yukito moved a little closer, reaching out to touch his brother's shoulder, "Hei-ying, answer me. . ."

"Kero-chan!" Sakura's voice reprimanded from the doorway, "What have you done?!"

"EH?!" Keroberos turned away from Hei-ying and protested irritably, "I've done nothing!! I just came to check on the snow rabbit!! Why me?! Why are you blaming me?!"

Sakura shook her head, "Fine then . . ." She folded her arms and shivered slightly, her hastily drawn on dressing gown providing little warmth for her, "What's going on?"

"Well, I don't know!!" Keroberos huffed, "I come in here to check on Yuki, and that thing's on the floor having—"

"Hei-ying!" Tomoyo cried out. "No!"

There was a small cry from behind him and Keroberos and the other guardians spun. 

Hei-ying held a jade dagger to Yukito's throat and stared coldly at Keroberos. "Well?" He spat tiredly, "Well?!"

"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Keroberos growled ferociously, his claws dug into the thick carpet, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you if you so much as—"

"This is such an old battle, Keroberos! I've heard that threat so many times, stuffed animal . . ." Hei-ying pressed the dagger closer to Yuki's throat, "Time to make good on it, or are you not a creation of Clow, some weak pathetic—"

"ENOUGH!!" Keroberos roared and bounded forward. Hei-ying grinned wickedly and pushed Yukito clear of the on-coming lion. Ruby ran forward and caught Yukito as the snow rabbit lost consciousness and transformed. Sakura brought out her staff and ran forward, "Hei-ying-san!! Kero-chan!! Damare!!"

Hei-ying stared only at Keroberos as the lion roared and thrust his sharp claws at him, "What's the matter, little sunbeam?!" Hei-ying taunted harshly, he raised his hand and formed his jade daggers, "Don't I scare you anymore?!"

Keroberos ducked as a jade dagger came close to hitting him, the dresser behind him exploding. Syaoran grabbed Sakura, and hauled her out of the room. Eriol did the same with Tomoyo and called over his shoulder, "Ruby, Spinel!! Bring Yue and Touya!"

The lion growled, his fur standing on end with his fury, "Hei-ying . . . I knew you would show your true face . . ." He stalked forward, as Hei-ying motioned him forward, "And now I'll kill you for good, by my own claws! Damn you, I'll kill you for good!"

"Always keep your promises, Yue" Hei-ying hissed mockingly, "Always eat your greens Yue!" The dark angel motioned Keroberos forward, his memory giving him enough to replay the battle they'd fought on the roof of the Clow mansion, "It's so nice, Yue! I'll treasure it forever!" Keroberos ran forward, and dived onto Hei-ying, he grasped Hei-ying's head in his paw, and brought it down to the floor with a great crack. "Such a pretty painting, Yue! I'll hang it on my mantelpiece." Hei-ying spat blood, and stared up at his younger brother, hissing darkly, "Isn't it nicer now it's just the two of us, Keroberos? Just like the old times? No more 'Be quiet you two, Yue's trying to nap' . . . none of that anymore . . ." 

"STOP IT!!" Keroberos closed his eyes and rammed Hei-ying's head down again, "You never succeeded!! Clow stopped you from killing him!!" He raised his claws and pressed them against Hei-ying's chest, they were poised to rip the dark angel's rib cage open. "For Clow's sake, Yue was just a child!! He was just a fucking child, what did he ever do to you?! Why do you want to kill him so much?!"

"STOP!!" Yue's voice urgently sounded, as the moon angel ran in and wrapped his arms around Keroberos' neck, "Keroberos, do not continue this! Keroberos!! Please!!"

"He tried to kill you!!" Keroberos roared and opened his eyes to stare at his youngest brother desperately, "I won't let him do it!!"

"Keroberos . . ." Yue swallowed, tightening his grip, "Look at him!! Please just look at him!"

"I don't want to!" Keroberos shook his head violently, "I never wanted to see him again!"

"Kero-chan, please!!" Sakura ran into the room, closely followed by Syaoran. The little wolf held her away from the guardians as she called over to them, "Kero-chan, please look!!"

Keroberos trembled with rage and fear and resentment and impotent lust for revenge. He curled his claws, twisting the loose black material around those small but sharp claws, "Why won't you let me protect you . . .?"

Yue buried his face in Keroberos' neck and shuddered with his brother, "Please, Oniichan, please just look . . ."

The lion shook his head violently before Ruby finally snapped tiredly, "For the love of Eriol! Keroberos, you stubborn beast . . . LOOK!" She motioned Hei-ying before she sank down and wrapped herself around a shocked looking Spinel. 

Keroberos finally dipped his head and opened his golden eyes; aware on some level tears had sprung there. Tears . . . that were mirrored in Hei-ying's. Hei-ying looked desperate, he trembled and looked around still pinned by Keroberos' claws. His face twisted as he began to sob angrily, he reached up with his free hand and grabbed the side of Keroberos' head. His voice broke with his desperation as he screamed into the lion's face. "I'll kill him! I will!!" He pulled at the fur painfully, shaking the lion's head as best he could, "Make good on your promise, Keroberos, for Yue's sake!!" 

Keroberos' mouth fell open and he loosened his grip on Hei-ying's front. 

"Keroberos, you useless stuffed animal!!" Hei-ying cursed bitterly, "I'll kill Yue if you don't do it now!" His pale fingers grasped at the soft white fur on Keroberos' front, as he tried to make the lion angry again. "Please! You damned useless creature . . . Please!" 

Keroberos pulled his claws away and let them slip back into the soft folds of his paws. He continued to stare at Hei-ying, shock and horror clear on his features before they hardened, "You coward . . . You would have me kill you because you cannot face life . . ."

The dark angel's face crumpled completely. "You can't leave me like this!" He grabbed a fist of Keroberos' fur again and cried out empty threats, "I'll kill Sakura, I'll kill everyone . . . Keroberos . . ." 

Eriol sighed heavily as he looked up at Touya, "It would be best if we put him to sleep again for now . . ." Touya nodded and moved forward, carefully stepping past the broken mirror and the shards of broken plates. Yue looked up at him, his breath catching as the angel valiantly tried not to break at the sight of his eldest brother. He let go of Keroberos' neck and pulled the lion away from their disturbed and broken brother.  Keroberos continued to stare at Hei-ying as the dark angel lay on the floor and screamed out empty threats of desperation – and then screamed no words at all, a glassy, splintered meaningless sound of thwarted rage. Touya knelt by him and held down his shoulders. "Hei-ying!"

The angel quietened down instantly and stared at Touya with dull, tear-filled eyes. "What right did you have to make me live like this?"

"It will be okay . . ." Sakura called over, she reached out with her hand as if she was hoping he'd take it and allow her to pull him from his emotional abyss, "Please, if you'll let us help you . . . everything will be okay . . ." 

Grim, and with a firm expression, Touya raised his hand, understand this, "Hei-ying . . ." he allowed some magic flow into his hand, catching Hei-ying's attention, "No one in this household is going to help you die. No one will try to kill you. And as my guardian, you cannot kill yourself . . ." He stared at the wide jade eyes, "Do you understand?"

Beautiful jade eyes slid shut for a moment before the angel nodded.

"Good . . ." Touya waved his hand over Hei-ying's face and a few seconds later all the tension ran out of the pale face as Hei-ying lost consciousness. 

"I can't take him on like this . . ." 

Touya sighed wearily as he and his sister watched from the doorway. Hei-ying was in his bed once more, pale face in stark contrast from his dark hair and his dark bedclothes. Eriol sighed, as he pulled off his cloak and placed it around his wife's bare shoulders, "Touya . . . Hei-ying needs time to adjust . . . he's already remembered most of his life with Clow, it's very evident that he's past the memory of his attempted murder of Yue . . ." The blue haired magician sighed and wrapped an arm around Tomoyo. "We just need to stick it out and try to help him . . ."

As the guardians tended to Hei-ying, Tomoyo glanced worriedly at the effect it was having on Sakura. Sakura stared at Hei-ying anxiously, clearly remembering the last time their paths had crossed. Only two people had cried for Hei-ying after his death, Sakura and Yue. Sakura had always felt a little guilty for a long time afterward because she'd known she could have saved Hei-ying. This knowledge weighed heavily on Sakura's mind. Her precious spell that had saved her from the Dark card, seen her through the final judgment, the test of Eriol, the adventures with the Void Card and the attack of Mystrasa Kyree, the one phrase that seemed to define Sakura's character and magic: 'Everything will be okay' had failed only once. 

It had failed with Hei-ying.

It seemed that Hei-ying would always be the exception of the rule. She saw Sakura's eyes watch every movement that surrounded Hei-ying, every movement that Hei-ying evinced; every fleeting expression on the sleeping guardian's face. Tomoyo knew Sakura wasn't prepared to fail Hei-ying again even before Sakura seemed to know it herself. She smiled and leant back into Eriol's embrace as Sakura turned to her brother, determination lighting up her beautiful features. 

"Oniichan." 

Touya blinked as his twenty-year-old sister turned to him, determination in her eyes. "We're going to do our very best for Hei-ying, so don't give up! No-body is going to help him die, and nobody is going to give up on him! We just need to make him know that just because Clow did something wrong, doesn't mean everyone does it wrong either!" 

Syaoran raised an eyebrow, "Sakura . . . it could just be that Hei-ying is a cursed creature . . . sometimes in magic that happens; some creations just aren't destined to exist . . ."

"No!" Sakura shook her head violently, "I won't accept that!" She looked at each of the humans, "I made Kero-chan promise me that he would try and help Hei-ying . . . now I want you to all promise you won't give up!"

"Sakura-chan's right . . ." Tomoyo stepped from Eriol, and wrapped her hands around Sakura's delicately, "We can't give up." She nodded; "Sakura-chan and I will take care of him until he is strong enough mentally and physically to face you three."

Eriol blinked, "Pardon me?"

Tomoyo smiled, "You clearly don't think of him as anything more than a cursed being, even though you are prepared to help him. Therefore would it not be a better idea to leave him with us, Sakura-chan and I, and with the guardians while you three, with the links that you have with Clow Reed and the Li Clan, begin the search again for Clow-sama's missing skull?"

Syaoran blinked for a moment while Touya nodded slowly, "I understand . . ." He looked to the others, "With our links to Clow Reed, we are perhaps expecting too much of Hei-ying . . ." He glanced at Tomoyo, "Isn't that what you mean?" 

Tomoyo smiled knowingly. "Perhaps. I think because Kinomoto-san looks so much like Clow-sama, and Li-kun is Clow-sama's descendant, and Eriol-kun was Clow-sama's reincarnation for a time . . . Hei-ying is being forced to see his creator in every direction he looks, a creator he misses dearly . . ." 

"My wife . . ." Eriol smiled resignedly, "Are you sure you don't have any connection with Clow Reed . . . Because sometimes you know too much and tell too little for your own good." He stepped forward and kissed her temple gently before addressing Sakura, "Very well . . . Touya will tell Hei-ying in the morning that he is to attend yourself and my wife . . ." 

Sakura nodded, "We'll take care of him until he remembers everything clearly . . ." She smiled, "Yosh! Let's tell Yue-kun!"

"I heard everything." 

"HOEEEEE!!!" 

Sakura jumped as Yue delivered his deadpan reply, he shook his head and tutted quietly. "Sakura-san . . ." He sighed, "You still haven't gotten used to me yet?"

Sakura clutched at her chest, "Demo~!!" She groaned, "You sneak up on me so suddenly!" 

"Keroberos . . ."

A few hours later, everyone was retiring again. The morning was approaching but everyone agreed they'd need to sleep in late. With everyone else finally in bed, Keroberos was the last to retire. The lion paused in the doorway of his bedroom and turned. Yue looked at him for a long moment before following his elder brother in. Keroberos sighed and jumped onto his bed, making room for Yue as the moon angel followed him. "I wanted to thank you . . ."

"Don't." Keroberos sighed sharply as he padded around in circles on his large bed, "I did nothing . . ." he flicked his tail irritably before dispersing with his wings, "Hei-ying is very disturbed at this moment . . . his life is a living hell." Kero slumped down in a heap ungraciously; "You could thank me if I did it because I didn't want to hurt him . . ." 

Crawling onto the large bed and patting down the covers, Yue tilted his head inquisitively before lying down beside his brother and staring into the fuzzy features.

Kero huffed before he continued, "No. . . I didn't do it because I didn't want to hurt him . . ." The lion shifted so he could look into his younger brother's eyes, "I did it because it hurts him more to live without Clow and to know the things that he did . . . this is far worse than any death."

His younger brother stared at him for a moment longer, "If you think I believe that, Keroberos . . . you must take me for a fool." Yue closed his eyes and folded his arms under his chin contemplatively, "I know you, Keroberos . . . you couldn't do that to someone, even if you tried . . ."

"What's to say I'm not trying now?"

"Because Keroberos . . . I saw your face when you realised what he was trying to do . . ." Yue smiled slightly and raised his hand to pull off Keroberos' heavy helmet. "Oniichan, people think I am cold because I act so . . . they cannot see my real emotions because I do not wish them to . . ." He nodded to himself and closed his eyes, shuffling closer to his brother, "What they don't realise is that you do the same, only with a smiling face and bright humour . . ." Yue opened an eye and watched Kero out of the corner of his eye, "I saw you, Keroberos, I saw you look at him with worry . . ."

"Fine then. Perhaps for a moment, half a moment . . ." Keroberos huffed quietly and got up again restlessly. He grasped the ties in Yue's hair tightly and pulled at them, "Maybe I worried a tiny, tiny bit for him . . ." Keroberos carefully dumped the ties into Yue's waiting outstretched hand, "But worrying for a mad creature is not the same as caring for it . . . Hei-ying . . . well, He's not sane, he never has been sane . . ." 

Neither noticed the pale ghost in the doorway, pale hands grasping at the frame tightly. Hair, matted now from the sweat and tears trailed over this ghost's pale features. A snarl curled at his lip, old fury building at these two creatures that had taken his place in Clow's heart. These two imperfect creations which dared to discuss him now. His eyes narrowed angrily. 

"But Keroberos . . . maybe now we can—"

The pale ghost's anger bled away. He was too weak to carry out any threat. He hated them both for their strength; he could see it when he stared at them impotently. He was a mess, his hair was matted, disgusting. His place in this world was meaningless, his new master was uncertain as to whether he could handle his existence. Compared to these two, the pale ghost was just that . . . he was a ghost of the past, useless, excessive to everyone's needs.

"The best we can do for him is care for him until . . ." The lion trailed off, and pulled at the next hair tie, "until he can tell us how he came to be here . . ."

Sorrowful jade eyes watched them longingly; a pale forehead touched the dark wood of the doorframe. The pale ghost swallowed and stepped back, trying not draw attention to himself. He wanted to fade away, not willing to recover the rest of his memories. Already, he was too disgusted with himself . . . wasn't it bad enough that he could recall his most disgusting lapse in control?

Keroberos hummed quietly as he tugged the blanket up higher, Yue was already dozing. His now loose white hair spilt around his slim body like moonlight-made-silk.

The pale ghost turned from the doorway, refusing to take the chance that his youngest brothers would see him in this sorry state. He would return to his room and would try to figure out a way he could fade away, remove himself from this existence without disobeying his new master. He tried to levitate away so not to cause the floorboards to creak. He was too weak and stumbled out of the air. He paused, shaking his head. He was no longer perfect . . . no longer a creation of Clow Reed. Clow's rejection had seen to that, his memories of Clow's pure, deep, burning love, the ten years they were alone together clashed hard against the knowledge that Clow had rejected him. The pale ghost had to ask his heart, really for the first time, if Clow had ever really, truly loved him as much as the pale ghost had thought.

"Hei-ying . . ." 

The dark angel paused in the corridor and turned at the sound of his brother's voice. Keroberos stared at him for a very long moment before he padded fully out into the corridor and sat. He breathed in slowly and breathed out again before he started to speak again. "For Sakura-chan, I promised to try and help you . . . for my little one, I promise to try and accept you . . ." he sighed and looked back into his room, "for you . . . I promise to *try* . . ."

The pale ghost swallowed, trying to compose himself. He nodded and turned away again.

"Hei-ying!"

The taller boy turned and looked at him. Keroberos sighed, as Ruby's door opened and the butterfly winged girl stuck her head out, "Nani~?" She groaned, "It's *still* so early!"

Keroberos ignored her and stared at his older brother, "Don't make me regret this, Hei-ying."

Hei-ying tilted his head and turned away again. 

Ruby blinked and yawned widely, looking at Spinel's door as the small form of her brother floated out. The midnight blue cat hovered over to her and sat on her shoulder, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He eyed her rollers and shook his head before looking at the intense confrontation between the two brothers. Keroberos stared at Hei-ying, his older brother, who'd always inspired so much fear in him . . . the cool, composed, icy angel of his childhood was gone. Hei-ying was a wreck, his body may have been restored but his mental state was barely holding on. Keroberos' brow drew together as his heart asked very quietly, if he wanted to turn Hei-ying away like this again . . . he got up and started to pad into his room again, pausing again to look at Hei-ying. Kero realised he had a chance, a very real chance to do something Hei-ying had never done. The lion looked down at his front paws; he had a real chance to change things between them. He looked at Hei-ying; the angel was receding back into the shadows of the corridor, falling further and further out of reach. Keroberos sucked in his bottom lip and turned away from his room, stepping after Hei-ying. Ruby and Spinel watched the two silently. 

Keroberos glanced back into his room before stepping forward again, "Hey . . . look, Hei-ying . . .?"

Once again the angel stopped but this time didn't turn.

Staring at his front paws, Keroberos sighed sharply, "You look cold . . . if we combine all our magicks then my room will be much warmer than yours, with Yue and these two in it . . ." He huffed and stalked back into the room, his long tail flicking sharply as it trailed after him, "You might as well stay over . . ."

Ruby squealed as she bounced up and clapped her hands, "Guardian slumber party!!" 

Spinel rolled his eyes and landed on Keroberos' back, "Is it such a wise idea to allow Ruby near your things?"

Hei-ying stared at the three others for a moment longer before walking back to his younger brother's room. He stood in the doorway and hesitated. It occurred to him that never before had he ever been invited into Keroberos' room, he'd always stood outside or forced his way in. His younger brother had never offered . . . it unnerved him and he wasn't quite sure how sincere the lion was. Yue was curled up on the bed, his hair loose and curling around him. He snored quietly. Hei-ying blinked as he thought he saw a small smile flit over Yue's lips as the large lion approached the bed, was Yue awake? Did he hear? Hei-ying stared at him closely but Yue's features were gently composed in sleep, seemingly ignorant as Keroberos bounced lightly onto the bed and Spinel transformed into his full form. Behind him Ruby Moon rushed out of her room, carrying a blanket and extra pillows. She rushed into Hei-ying's back and pushed him in. The star guardian stumbled slightly, emotional exhaustion finally taking its toll on his coordination.  

"Come on! Come on!!" She squealed again, dumping her load onto Yue's sleeping form, "This is going to be so much fun!!"

Hei-ying raised an eyebrow as she proceeded to bounce on the bed, waking Yue up. The moon guardian growled and grabbed her arm, "Ruby! I was sleeping!!"

"Datte~!!" Ruby cried out cheerfully, "It's a guardian slumber party!! You're not supposed to sleep!!"

Yue rolled his eyes and blinked as he noticed Hei-ying standing awkwardly by the doorway. "Hei-ying . . . Oniichan?"

"Ruby!!" Spinel snapped as he padded around the top of the bed, clearly deciding that he would hog the pillows. He glared at his sister as he finally lay down, "Come here, and go to sleep!"

Yue continued to stare at him with shock as Hei-ying nodded and pulled his long ponytail over his shoulder to undo the straps. He smiled slightly as he perched on the edge of the bed, "Keroberos invited me . . ." He murmured demurely, "I was feeling a little cold, he thought it might help to be . . ." Hei-ying swallowed and tried to smile, it came off half suspicious and more than a little wan. He shrugged a little and continued to loosen his robes, ". . . to be with my family . . ."   

Yue's mouth twitched into a slight smile as Keroberos finally pounced on Ruby, roaring loudly as he pulled at the large plastic rollers in her hair. Ruby squealed painfully loud and kicked out, managing to just miss Yue's head. Spinel rolled his eyes and picked up a pillow, he threw it at the tussling pair and growled darkly, "I want to sleep now!!"

Finally ready for bed, Hei-ying sighed quietly and lay beside Yue. He stared at him for a long moment before murmuring with an amused, sardonic twist to his voice, "Is it always so noisy?" He raised an eyebrow, "Or is everyone just really excited to have a serial murderer in their bed . . .?"

Yue blinked with surprise at his brother's dark sense of humour but gave him a small reassuring look, "You'll get used to Ruby after a whil—"

"WHHEEE!!" Ruby squealed loudly as she broke free of Keroberos and jumped to sit on Yue's back as if expecting a pony ride, "Yue-chan-chan!! You like me!!"

Yue muttered something that sounded suspiously like, "A *long* while . . ." 

Giggling, Ruby leant over and squeezed his neck tightly before turning to her brother, "Suppi-chan-chan!! Did you hear that? Yue-chan-chan said he loves me!!" 

Hei-ying's jade eyes widened with surprise, and a small chuckle escaped his throat as he took in the lightning change of Yue's composed and inscrutable moon guardian face, to that of infuriated youngest brother. Backing off slightly to give him enough room, Hei-ying watched him spun and pin Ruby down to the bed and yelled into her giggling features irately, "Stop calling me Yue-chan-chan!!"

-----

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM:[starry eyed] I love the readers!! I love the readers!! I love the readers!! [coughs] Ahem, and now . . . Due to demand, never say I don't make a point of respecting the readers' request . . . Kero-chan-chan and Hei-ying-chan-chan will now translate their German conversation from the last chapter . . . [winks] I usually dislike translating most of the time as it takes away from the effect because other characters don't understand them, and because most of the time it's constructed from dictionaries, on-line translation machines and my own half-arsed understanding of grammar . . . [coughs] Anyway . . . Kero, Hei-ying. . .

Kero: [sighs] Okay, okay . . . [picks up script and reads] _Eh? What is wrong, my shit older brother?_

Hei-ying: [adjusts reading glasses] _You are a fat house cat! I pity you, you are very ugly/hateful!_ [glances at DrM with pained expression as she can't remember which, continues] _Damned stuffed playtoy!_

Kero: [coughs, sips drink] _What?! You shitty demon!!_ [Nods] _I have nothing but hate for you!_ [Raises eyebrow] _I am finished with you---_ [DrM holds up card reading, 'More Literally:~'] _With you, I am finished!_

Hei-ying: [smirks and shrugs] _I don't give a damn! I have nothing but hate for you as well!_ [Motions Yue in the corner] _And your little Moonbeam! He is the thorn in my eye!_

Sakura: [chuckles] isn't the saying meant to be 'Thorn in my SIDE'?

DrM: [frowns] yeah, but I think there was something screwy with the translation dictionary I have on my comp . . . [motions Hei-ying and Kero] please continue, guys!

Kero: [clears throat] _He is beyond help. . ._

Hei-ying: [tips glasses slightly] _She has not understood us . . . we will speak in Japanese . . ._ [tilts head] _in order _(with you)? 

DrM: [whispers] Sorta more like 'OK' or a harsh 'Alright?'

Kero: [nods] _When you have no objections . . ._

Hei-ying: [nods] _Then that is good._

DrM: [bows] and that is what transpired during the last German conversation . . . from now on, unless I make special exception or I feel that the general sense can not be read from the words, I will not be translating . . . it just spoils the confusion . . . [grins] not to mention takes up valuable space in the author's notes! Please R&R!! [whispers] you were good, guys. . . keep up the good work!

Kero: [shakes head and sighs] Du gehst mir auf die Nerven.

Hei-ying: [folds arms and peers over glasses] Du hast viel auf dem Kerbholz, Frau Doktor Groessenwahn!

DrM: Doktor Groessenwahn?! [eye twitch] That's my name in German?! Wow! [grins] anyway, one last important thing for you to know is. . . This was supposed to be last week's update because it was my beloved betareader's birthday on the Friday!!! [claps] Yay!! So . . . with out further ado! [pulls at curtain revealing whole Find Redemption cast] Everyone, one. . . two. . . THREE!!

All: [sings] HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU~! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BLUEGOOOOOOOOOO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!! [claps] YAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!

Blue: *clasps hands to ears again* aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!! *weaves slowly upright again and winces painfully* You'd think I would've been expecting that. . . but no. . .


	8. Time To Say Goodbye

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

WARNING: While I like to play with candles as Maduokai does in this chapter, I do not suggest that anyone else should be so irresponsible. Fires are caused by silly people who don't watch what they are doing . . . and such fires cost lives. This is a standard warning, which I'm sure you'll ignore, but I put it here because I don't feel like anyone's mommy and daddy blaming me for their stupid kid. When I want to blame for a major disaster, I'll knock the moon out of orbit or something . . . [folds arms] Do as I say, don't do as I do! 

NOTE: Tian-mu, according to www.pantheon.org, is the Chinese Goddess of Lightning. Mushu, according to Disney, is the little dragon who protected Mulan and had the voice of Eddie Murphy . . . [grins]

If this chapter's a little melancholy, it's because I was listening to Cardcaptor Sakura music from the first movie. There's a lot of traditionally Chinese influenced music in the movie, and I just feel that way at the mo . . . 

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Seven: Time To Say Goodbye 

"So what is the plan for today?"

In the second floor breakfast room, the sun filtered in warmly and provided ample lighting for the small group as they ate. The table was decorated simply with wild flowers from the garden. The bright, fragrant yellows and the warming, sweet reds provided a much-needed calm atmosphere to the small gathering. Breakfast was equally as simple and pleasant. Yukito beamed happily as he served up the rice and looked over the feast he and Ruby had prepared that morning. There were plenty of crusty home baked breads – Keroberos eagerly sitting himself near the warm bread, darn near drooling over the hot rolls -  and a wide range of fillings, including meats and spreads, there was also freshly cooked rice and some lightly fried fish. Ruby had outdone herself, serving not only her master's favourite English tea, but also coffee, Chinese tea, juices and ice cold water in a jug. Eriol glanced over the rim of his tea cup and smiled at his moon guardian, "Well . . ." he paused and looked around the table, "Touya, Syaoran and I plan on going out for a bit, to make some preparations for our trip to China . . . I think I shall take Spinel with me," He gazed at Ruby for a moment, "Why do you ask, Ruby?"

"Well, I was hoping so, Hei-ying needs a bit of air and . . ." She trailed off, "If Touya doesn't mind us playing with him for a bit. . ."

Touya raised an eyebrow at the moon guardian and sighed, "Hei-ying needs to spend a little time with Sakura and Tomoyo before we expose him to your special brand of . . . *playing*, Ruby . . ."

"But—"

"I'm going to have to agree with Touya on this one, Ruby . . ." Eriol placed his cup down as he reasoned with his creation, "Give him a little more time, okay?" He smiled and reached over to pet her hand lightly, "Then when he is better adjusted, you can play with him all you like . . ."

Sakura frowned slightly as she stared into her breakfast. "Stare any harder and the rice will catch fire . . ." Sakura blinked and glanced up as Syaoran winked at her from across the table and sipped his tea. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, as he picked up his chopsticks and picked at his food. "Are you . . ." his dark brown eyes flashed shyly as he met hers, concern for her in those deep chocolate depths surfacing slightly, ". . . feeling okay?"

"Fine, Fine!" Sakura hastily gathered her smile and beamed at him, slipping her foot out of her slipper and reaching under the table to stroke her toes against the side of his leg reassuringly. Her brother raised an eyebrow at Syaoran's sudden blush but dismissed it easily. "It's just . . ." Sakura's smile faded a little as she stared into her bowl of steaming rice. She pushed at a few grains with her light pink chopsticks before raising her head again, "It feels bad that we discuss what Hei-ying does. . ." She sucked in her bottom lip and sighed, "Shouldn't we let *him* choose?"

"Sakura-chan. . ." Eriol tilted his head as he explained quietly, ". . . for now, until Hei-ying feels more at ease with his new life, we should guide him in the best direction we can."

"Demo . . ." She frowned again, lifting her unique chopsticks, "Demo . . ."

"Sakura-chan." She looked up at Syaoran as he leant forward a little, "With the love that you have . . ." he blushed slightly and continued quietly, "With the love you have, anyone can feel better soon . . ." he swallowed and tried to make his blush recede, "besides, consider that we aren't the ones who currently feel like suicide is the better option than living . . ."

Feeling Syaoran's leg press against her foot lightly, Sakura sighed and began to eat again, "Hai . . ." she blinked as she felt her cards wiggle. "Hoe?" Sakura reached into her pocket and pulled out the pack of cards. The Sakura cards glowed powerfully. "Hoe?" Sakura blinked rapidly, "What's happening?! Cards? What's wrong?"

As Yukito transformed into Yue, Keroberos frowned deeply and floated over the table in his smaller form. He pressed a tiny paw against the pack and wondered aloud, "What's gotten into you?"

"Hoe? Kero-chan?" 

"Something is calling them . . . Clow used to leave his cards in the study all the time and whenever he wanted them he's call them to his side . . . no matter how far away he was he could always call them to him . . ." 

"I could do that?" Sakura asked quietly as she held onto the cards tightly, "Why didn't you say?"

"I never knew the spell for it . . ." Kero-chan admitted quietly, he glanced at Yue as the angel's wings disappeared, "There are many things about the cards that Clow simply neglected to tell us . . ."

"There they are."

The group turned as Hei-ying opened the door fully, he stepped in revealing clearly that he'd only just gotten up. His hair was a little loose, and he was dressed, neatly as ever, in his dressing gown and pyjamas. He sighed and frowned, "Why didn't they come to me   when I called?" 

"Eh!" Kero-chan cried out, jerking as he turned to the dark angel, "*You* know the spells?!"

Sakura held up her cards, "You're making them do this?"

Hei-ying glanced at the table before he nodded slowly, "Well . . . yes . . ." He sighed and pulled at a loose strand of hair, "How else am I to deal with all of this, it needs washing . . . and my uniform . . ." Hei-ying paused, waving his hand slightly. Sakura blinked with surprise as the cards stopped glowing instantly. Hei-ying sighed and glanced down. He thought for a moment more before he began to speak quietly, "I wish to make some . . . alterations to it . . ."

Tomoyo sat up at this, she eyed over Hei-ying as he motioned himself, "Why?"

Hei-ying glanced at Yue and Keroberos before answering quietly. "My memory has gotten to the point where . . ." he swallowed, "where the last few days before I was sealed . . . I do not wish to wear the uniform that . . . that Master Clow created for me anymore . . ."

"Na-Nani?!" Kero-chan's mouth fell open, "But you love Clow!!"

"I did . . ." Hei-ying looked at him sincerely, "I did a lot, but now . . ." He let his eyes close as he sighed, "Now I realise Master Clow didn't love me, he never loved me anymore than a fancy toy . . ." he opened his eyes, glancing first at Tomoyo before he motioned around the table, "I look around . . . there is nothing left of him anymore, the only real object in this room, in this time that suggests Master Clow really existed beyond memory . . ." he stared at Kero meaningfully, ". . . is me." He raised a hand and hesitantly placed it on Kero's head, "Even you, even Yue. . . the cards aren't Master Clow anymore, this *house* is not Master Clow anymore. . . I am the last thing that hasn't changed from Master Clow's time to the time of Sakura . . ." He nodded and let his hand slip of Kero's head. He lifted his other hand and pulled at something invisible there. Sakura gasped as a jade green ribbon faded into existence as he pulled it from his wrist. Hei-ying held it up and smiled slightly. 

"This is the first time . . ." Keroberos whispered, amazement clear in his voice but tempered with clear distrust, "I've ever seen you smile without hate . . ."

Hei-ying stared at him with melancholy, "Really?" He glanced up at Yue, and nodded. "It really must be the first time I've . . . smiled for you . . ."

Yue blinked and stood, "What are you doing?"

The end of the ribbon started to glow and began to fizzle with bright sparks of jade green magic. It was coming apart with a fine dusting of magic, and blew away by some tiny breeze.

"Hei-ying!" Keroberos stood and shouted, "You're—"

"I know. . ." Hei-ying whispered, he started at the end of the ribbon and swallowed, "As my master, Touya, you will have to craft me a new weapon to use . . ." 

There was a shocked gasp from Ruby and she clapped her hand over her mouth as Spinel floated over. The midnight blue false form glanced at Touya and said quietly, "The weapon that a master gives to a creation is one of the most precious things they can give them . . ." he stared at Hei-ying, "You'll regre—"

"No." Hei-ying continued to stare at the disappearing ribbon, "It's time . . ." he glanced at Kero again, "Time to let go of Ma . . ." he trailed off and sighed quietly, "To let go of Clow . . ." The last of the ribbon disappeared, and the dusty flecks of glowing green magic floated away and faded. Hei-ying breathed in, and glanced at Ruby. "Stand up . . . please . . ."

Ruby blinked, and stood slowly. ". . . Why . . . ?"

Hei-ying made a circular motion with his hand as he too stood. "Turn around . . . please . . ."

She turned, but looked over her shoulder with curiosity, "Why?"

Hei-ying glanced at her back and nodded, "Thank you . . ." he held out his hand and without looking at her, asked Sakura quietly, "May I borrow a card?"

"Ha-hai . . ." Sakura loosened her hold on the cards and Hei-ying made a motion with his hand. The Sword card came flicking from the pack as Hei-ying reached over his shoulder and pulled his hair over. He stared at it for a moment before reaching for the card. Yue stood and gasped, "Oniichan! But—"

"A creator decides the look of any guardian . . ." Hei-ying murmured as he made a sharp flick with his wrist, the Sword card turning instantly into a sharp looking silver blade, engraved with gold stars.

"I didn't know you could do that!!" Sakura stood and pointed at the beautiful little blade, "What did you do?"

"In case the staff was being used for the Fly card, you could ask the Sword card to become a knife . . ." Hei-ying shrugged slightly as he swiftly cut through the ties in his hair. "As the advisor, it was my purpose of existence to know every small detail about the Clow cards . . ." he stared at Touya, "A master can dictate what the creation looks like . . ." 

Touya blinked, his mouth falling a little open.

Hei-ying continued, gathering his hair in a hand, "Do you have any preferred style?"

The tall magician shook his head, "I . . . no, I don't . . ." he blinked again as realisation set in. "Hei-ying, without the obedience spell, and because I don't believe in this mastery rule . . ." he glanced at Yue and began to smile a little, "Hei-ying, you are free to do what you wish, with your appearance and your daily life . . ."

Hei-ying closed his eyes and swallowed, hesitating. "Perhaps . . ." he drew a ragged breath, "I just needed to hear the words . . ." he bowed slightly, "Excuse me . . ."

Tomoyo stood and walked around the table to Sakura, placing her hand on the other girl's shoulder. Ruby followed Tomoyo, glancing at her master. Eriol was smiling slightly as he nodded to Ruby. Yue walked around the table and followed his elder brother, blinking as Ruby linked her arm with his. The two stood just behind Hei-ying as he opened the window and sat on the windowsill. He let his long, loose black hair hang out the window, and let the breeze play with it for a few moments. The two sun guardians flew over everyone's heads to get a better view. Syaoran looked at Eriol and Touya before standing up and moving to the other side of Sakura. He leant over and whispered, "This is highly unusual . . ." 

"Hoe?"

Syaoran nodded in Hei-ying's direction, "The appearance of a creation, like the weapon given to them, is another important tie to their creator . . . I've never heard of a creation ever, ever attempting to change . . . aside from madness, I can't think of a reason for it . . ."

"So it must be like . . ." Tomoyo smiled, "It's like he's trying to say goodbye for good . . . by making permanent changes . . ."  

Hei-ying raised his hand and caught a flowing lock of long black hair. He sighed and curled it around the dagger. With a strong tug and a slight hiss of indrawn breath, Hei-ying severed the lock cleanly. He'd chosen to cut his hair half way between Ruby's length, and Yue's . . . his new style of hair would fall to just below his knees. Hei-ying held the severed hair tightly before uncurling his hand and letting the silky black strands blow away. 

"Goodbye . . . Hei-ying smiled slightly, as he whispered, Goodbye Master Clow Reed . . . he opened his hand further, more strands peeled away. He tilted his head, his jade green eyes almost unreadable as he wished farewell to his master. Half the strands twisted away from him, the corner of his mouth twisted uncertainly as he blinked once. Hei-ying raised his hand, and blew gently, the last strand falling away completely. He stared after the last strand, suddenly swallowing hard, the ramifications of what he was doing, forcing long denied emotions to appear in his beautiful jade eyes.  

He watched them until they, like the ribbon before them, began to dissipate with flecks of glowing green magic. All creations had a sphere of magic, as Hei-ying's hair left his sphere of influence they disappeared. He pulled at another lock of hair and raised the dagger again. 

Ruby's hand pulled it away from him and he realised he was trembling. Ruby sat on the opposite side of the window, as Yue sat behind Hei-ying. Transforming, the two sun guardians flew out of the window and began to capture locks of the flowing black hair. Ruby took each from them, and cut through it cleanly, letting it go as soon as it was severed. Hei-ying – emotionally exhausted by this cathartic experience - leant back and was comforted by his youngest brother, as Yue raised his hands and braced Hei-ying's shoulders.

The human masters and magicians watched as each of the guardians took a lock of hair in the same way and wished their creator and first master a true goodbye. Ruby smiled, raising a lock of the silken black hair to her lips and kissing it softly. She threw it into the air, and smiled, Sayonara Ojii-sama . . .

Spinel grasped his tresses between his lips silently, before letting it go into the wind. The panther murmured in English, safe journey, grandfather Clow . . .

Goodbye Clow! Keroberos threw his strands into the air, and batted at them with his claws, you strange old man!!

Yue, like Ruby, kissed the black hair softly, and held it tightly between both hands. He stood, and held it out the window before letting go. Sayonara, papa . . . 

Soon, all of Hei-ying's hair fell to below his knees. Ruby smiled as she handed the dagger back to Hei-ying. He reached up and pulled at some of the front locks of hair, he cut those in a similar style as he'd had before, only longer. The sharp slopes of hair reached mid-chest this time, and instead of hiding a missing eye and ear, Hei-ying pulled his new fringe so it was tucked behind his ears, keeping all but a few strands from falling over his eyes. 

Brushing himself off, Hei-ying reached into his pockets and pulled out his hair ties. Swiftly putting them in, Hei-ying's ponytail swung as he pulled it over his shoulder and allowed it to rest there. He sighed and breathed in again before he looked at the humans, he looked at each intently. Do any of you know how to make clothing for magical usage? 

Tomoyo beamed as she grabbed Sakura's hand, Sakura-chan . . . may I borrow you and your magic? She ran over to Hei-ying who blinked rapidly with surprise as she started dragging him and Sakura to the door. We'll come up with something very magical indeed! Ah!! Sugoi!! Sakura-chan, we'll have to come up with something that matches it as well!! 

Syaoran glanced over at Eriol and raised an eyebrow, she's never changed . . .

And I wouldn't have her any other way . . . Eriol smiled widely, Ruby, why don't you help her . . .?

HAI~~!! Ruby extended her butterfly wings, and flew after them, Chotto matte!! Tomoyo-sama, Matte~!!!

"Do thee know where we are . . .?"

The woman blinked and turned, the fierce winds blowing her long black hair wildly around her face. She stared blankly at the man called Mister Hilligans for a long moment. "I don't remember . . ." she answered finally; she turned away from his, uninterested with what he had to say. Hilligans came and stood besides her, staring out at the strange land. "I've never been here before . . ." he murmured, taking in the long winding wall as it trailed and over the hills. He looked at the woman, her cloak twisted and wrapped around her; "Don't thy wonder where we are?"

"No . . ." she blinked slowly, "I just . . . don't . . ."

Hilligans sighed and continued to look at the stormy land, long green grasses shivered as the wind blew hard across the soft looking plains. It wasn't England; it couldn't be . . . the land simply looked totally different from the countryside of his native England. He'd been a coachman for most of his life and never had he come across hills like this. At first he thought he was in Scotland but the weather was too light for it. He sighed and continued to stare out with the nameless lass. 

"Don't thee want to know . . .?"

"Not really . . ."

"Why not?"

"I don't know . . ." she might have looked a little sad at this fact; he shook his head and turned to stare out at the strange new land. "Home." Hilligans blinked and snapped his head toward her. It was the first time he'd heard her speak voluntarily and say something other than a disinterested phrase. 

"Pardon me?"

"Home." She repeated, "this is my home land . . . I think . . ." she raised a hand and touched her cheek, "Maybe I was born here . . ."

He stared at her, her pale face and strange coloured eyes had lead him to believe for a moment that she was a magical creation but then. He frowned, Clow's eyes had had the same slight pinch to them, the pinch Clow had explained was a trait from the Chinese half of his family. Hilligans thought for a moment longer before gently asking, "Art thee a Chinese folk?"

"Chinese . . ." she whispered, her beautiful strange eyes slid shut, "I don't know . . ."

Hilligans bit his lip lightly, racking his memory for any other pieces of information that Clow had told him about his Chinese family. "The Li Clan . . . d'yer know anythin' about th' Li clan?" Her eyes snapped open and her face betrayed something more than mild disinterest for once. "Thy do!" Hilligans stepped toward her, "the Li clan of China! D'yer know them?!"

She stared at the wild land again, colour flowing into those pale cheeks as she whispered, "I remember . . . the name . . . but I . . ."

"Oh, lassie . . ." Hilligans murmured, he reached out and clapped a weather worn hand on her shoulder as he whispered gently, "Try to remember . . . when you remember something . . ." 

She looked at him, her beautiful strange eyes wide, "I'll tell you . . . if I . . . remember . . ."

Hilligans smiled soothingly for her, it was clear she was still a young lass, not much old than Clow Reed had been when he'd first met the powerful young magician. "Yer do that, f' me lass, then maybe we can fig're out a way t' escape . . ." he turned and walked away from her, hoping that by leaving her in her own thoughts might help a little. 

She watched him until he disappeared before turning back to the landscape again. The wind was biting cold against her cheek as she whispered again, "Home . . ." 

The wax was so soft to the touch. 

As the candlewick burnt lower and built a deep well inside the pale yellow church candle, the outer wall of it glowed with warm light. The flame danced with every breath, safe from harsh breezes. He'd watched thousands of candles burn, yet every one seemed subtly different. The feel of the wax under his hand, pliable at the top where it was warmest, hard and cool below. As he cupped his hands around the top, he could feel his fingers warmed by the flame and close to being burned and yet . . . he didn't care. He stared into the flame as it transfixed him. He held so much power over this small candle flame; he could snuff it out with a single blow, or cover it with a glass and watch as it suffocate slowly, getting weaker and weaker as it used all its air. He could relight it; pass its fire to another candle easily. 

He let his fingers play over the flame directly, burning them lightly. 

The flame danced, flickering violently as if trying to reach for his fingers and teach him for playing with it and forgetting its true might. One mistake, perhaps while he wasn't paying attention, perhaps when he lent too far forward, and the little flame would jump eagerly. It would burn his smooth black hair, set fire to his centuries old clothes and in an instant destroy everything in his possession. 

He dipped his fingers into the melted wax and coated his finger in the hot liquid. He stared thoughtfully as the nerve endings on his finger cried out mutely with pain. It was a small pain, lasting for only a moment or two before the hot wax cooled completely. Carefully he peeled it off and stared at it closely. There were the strange swirling patterns of his fingertip, imbedded in the soft wax. These marks were unique only to him, and reminded him that in this strange new world that he was alone . . .

Kuei Maduokai was truly alone.

When he had returned to this strange new China after years of training in a space of his own creation, he'd discovered that none of his family had survived. His entire clan had died out . . . he'd gone to Hong Kong, seeking out his sister. She had locked herself in a dimension of her own creation as well, waiting for Clow Reed to be reborn. Kuei Maduoshi had trapped herself away, leaving only a luring song for Clow Reed should he ever return to Hong Kong, leaving their family with only one powerful magician. Maduokai had sworn to his family as he prepared to enter a world of his own, that he would return as a powerful force capable of pulling his sister out of the spell she had trapped her soul in. 

When he'd finally achieved the level of magic and skill he needed, Maduokai had returned to find none of his family alive, his Clan line and name forgotten and worse . . . his beloved sister's soul had escaped from the spell . . . and dispersed unto the seven winds. 

He'd lost track of time within his timeless world, and come back powerful with not one member of his family left. He was alone in this world. 

Maduokai wandered this strange new China, the Emperor's dynasty had changed, and the magic world . . . the magic world that Clow Reed was supposed to save was forgotten . . . few magicians existed anymore. He'd heard his Clan's rivals were still around, less powerful as they had been in his day, but still they existed. The Li Clan still had a few members left and still practiced magic. 

The West was worse, no one there believed at all anymore and the most powerful family, the Reed Family of England had been slaughtered recently, drastically cutting the West Magic World's practitioners down and forcing them into hiding. 

When Maduokai had left, the Magic World was dying . . . and Clow Reed was said to be the one destined to save it. When he had returned, Maduokai found that Clow Reed had died and apparently taken the Magic world with him.

He sighed, the candlelight flickering at his breath. 

It was then, as he stared at the last remaining trace of his family home . . . a crumbled old castle on a forgotten hill near the Great Wall . . . that he made his decision. 

For his family, he would resurrect his sister and together, they would find a suitable wife and husband and begin their family line once more. 

He swore on the old grounds of this very castle, for the honour of his family, he would do what Clow Reed was supposed to do. He would bring the Magic World back, everyone here in the East would no longer salute old traditions but celebrate as magicians and sorcerers truly brought forth the deities . . . in the West, they would marvel as wizards, witches and warlocks preformed more than paltry tricks and simple blessings. Once again, the world would see grand creatures, until now only seen in picture books and heard of in song, fly in the air and roam the grounds. Once again, the Kuei Clan would have real meaning and people would speak of it with respect in their hushed voices. 

Upon the grounds of his family's honour, this he swore.

"Master . . .?"

Maduokai blinked and looked up from his contemplation of the candle. The small black and white dragon fluttered into the room, and perched on the table. It tilted its head as it hoped closer. The dragon was more like a traditional Chinese painting, the fine white eyebrows, and long white moustache outlined its fierce little pug features. Maduokai leant back in his seat, and picked up the teapot brewing beside him. As Maduokai poured some tea into a small, fine china bowl for him, the dragon moved closer to the candle and its interesting candleholder. It was a thin pane of glass, thick enough to stand with the aid of a small metal foundation. At the top, was another piece of black metal, this time with a disk atop of it to hold the candle. Etched into the glass, were three Chinese characters. 

_Kuei Clan of Tsu-kai Province._  

The small bowl of tea was set down with a light chink, as Maduokai murmured in his ancient dialect, "Drink deeply, Mushu, little dragon of lightning, may Tian-mu, Goddess of lightning continue you to bless you with magic, and Long, dragon of good fortune keep you in good health . . ."

The little dragon glanced at Maduokai for using his nickname, but lapped at the tea anyway. Maduokai lifted a hand, and stroked the dragon's head and down his long neck. T'amashu was the forth dragon of his creation. It was a powerful little dragon of the east, capable of the element of lightning. Maduokai had created his physical form, and had asked the deities to bless his creation with the Lightning. In remembrance of his family, Maduokai had called the small dragon 'Mushu' for short. 

Mushu raised his head and stared at the candle, "Thinking of your sister again?"

"I am not yet powerful enough . . ." Maduokai turned back to the candle and stared at the flickering light. "Clow Reed's soul continues to elude me. . ." he raised a hand, "But without him, I am not powerful enough to trace my sister's soul . . ."

Mushu nodded before asking quietly, "Then T'alas has failed to find the burial site of your sister . . .?"

"Yes." Maduokai nodded absently, he raised his hand and drew his finger over the flame again. "Without her physical remains . . ." he sighed and closed his eyes. Mushu fluttered over and crawled onto his master's shoulders to settle down. He draped himself there while Maduokai spoke softly, "I must seek out another power to supplement my own . . . so I can return Clow Reed to this world." He picked up a snack and broke it in half, handing a piece to Mushu, "I thought that creation of Clow's would be powerful enough . . ."

"Pity . . ." Mushu swallowed and continued, "Pity it went berserk . . . T'alas said it died trying to get to a place in Japan. . ."

"Perhaps." Maduokai sighed; T'alas wasn't the best creature to trust with such things. He never really cared about preciseness, like the wind, he was content to simply breeze through his life. He stared into the candle, "Clow Reed created many things . . . I heard he created the magic that would save our world, but kept it locked up. . ."

"So. . .?" Mushu yawned and closed his eyes, his tail whipping back and forth slowly. 

Maduokai got up and walked over to the window to stare out. T'alusia, second dragon of fire, flew past wrapping himself around the tower before flying down the Great Wall to check the boundaries of their hidden fortress. 

"Perhaps, this new magic of Clow's will be able to help me . . ." he murmured more to the land than anyone else, "Perhaps the holder of the Clow magic of today is a powerful enough magician to assist me . . ." he turned from the window, making his decision, "We will seek out the holder of Clow's magic . . . This powerful magician will be the one to help me reincarnate Clow Reed . . ."

"Hoooeeee!! To-Tomoyo-chan!!"

Sakura clapped her hands over her eyes, "Hei-ying only needs one costume!! Not Six!!" She peeked open one eye, and glanced at her best friend as she took Hei-ying's measurements again. The black haired angel looked on with some bemusement, as she took his waist. "I assure you . . ." he began quietly, amusement hiding quiet irritation, "I have not grown in the last five minutes . . ."

"I know, I know . . . but . . ." Tomoyo clapped her hands to her cheeks and sighed happily, "Never before have I had the chance to make a costume for such a being! And I must make something for Sakura-chan to commemorate the occasion too!"

Hei-ying raised an eyebrow; ". . . you're using me as an excuse to make a costume for the card mistress?" He blinked and looked at Ruby Moon, who was fiercely concentrated on sewing together a sleeve. Hei-ying hadn't been too keen on completely changing his uniform, just that he wanted it different enough. Instantly the rather cumbersome shawl that covered one arm, and trailed down the back of the uniform was removed, the idea of the suit it left remained. However, Tomoyo suggested rather than the tight leggings, that Hei-ying should have straight-legged trousers. 

Sakura added her suggestion, when she said that the drawings that Tomoyo was coming up with reminded her of the time Eriol trapped her in Wonderland. She mentioned that Yukito and Yue were the White Rabbit, and that the uniform Tomoyo was beginning to draw reminded her of that. Tomoyo asked Sakura to draw it, and eventually – although Sakura was nowhere as good at drawing as Tomoyo – they had a working design. Hei-ying's new uniform lost the shawl, the belt, and the leggings, it kept the long coat tails in the back, and shortened the ones in the to fall just below his waist. Trimming the bottom hem of the coat was a thick band of jade green, with gold at the very edge. The front of the coat was pulled in a little tighter to make up for the lack of a belt, and the jade green lapels were expanded slightly. The unique collar too was expanded, and dipped down the shoulders slightly; again this too was lined with gold. The large jade stone was moved up and placed just on the collar bone, and from it, hung two small, thick, dark green ribbons. Naturally, Hei-ying drew the line at a hat. The sleeves, which Ruby Moon was now sewing, would be just like the previous uniform so that Hei-ying's gloves could be incorporated. Likewise with the trousers, so Hei-ying's foot stirrups would be added. 

Hei-ying pulled his long fringe back loosely and tied it into his ponytail so that it covered his ears a little, but the tips and his earring still were visible. Ruby and Sakura left the room as Tomoyo helped Hei-ying into his new clothing.

Outside, the other guardians waited; Eriol, Touya and Syaoran having left already to make arrangements for their search for any information on the whereabouts of Clow Reed and Mister Hilligans' missing skulls. They looked up as Ruby and Sakura stepped out. Ruby sighed happily and wrapped her arms around Spinel's neck, "Oh! Suppi-kun~!! Tomoyo-sama is a genius!!" 

Keroberos nudged the back of Yue's knee lightly, Yue blinked and glanced down at his elder brother and folded his arms. Keroberos grinned up at him, "Can't wait to see Hei-ying in pink frills!"

"Kero-chan!" Sakura giggled lightly, "Hei-ying's new uniform looks very cool!!"

Tomoyo sighed happily as she stepped out, leaving Hei-ying to his own privacy, "I think I shall start making one in a similar style for Sakura-chan!" She motioned the door, "He looks very distinguished!" 

The door opened again, and Hei-ying stepped out.

It was a drastic difference, so drastic Keroberos and Yue barely recognised their eldest brother. The black that Clow's uniform had imprisoned Hei-ying in was replaced with a dark, almost black, velvet green. The beautiful jade remained, and the gold accented it. Hei-ying brushed down his sleeves carefully, before looking up. For a moment he glared at them, some of his old defensiveness coming back as he faced them. 

He straightened his cuffs, and brushed a stray tress of hair away from his eyes. 

It was still Hei-ying, the cool demeanour, and the same unwavering glare and yet . . . Tomoyo had transformed the pale ghost into someone a little less dark, and harsh. Hei-ying breathed in and stepped forward, spreading his arms slightly. ". . . Well?"

"A wolf dressed as lamb springs to mind." 

"Kero-chan! One more insult and you get no pudding!"

"Ah!! Sakura-sama!! No need to be so harsh!!"

"Sugoi~!! Hei-ying-chan-chan looks so very cool!!"

"Ruby, try to calm yourself . . . Hei-ying-san, Tomoyo-sama is correct, you do look very distinguished."

"This would look brilliant on Sakura-chan!!"

"To-Tomoyo-chan . . . I think he meant himself . . ."

"Handsome . . ." Yue stepped forward and clasped Hei-ying's hands, "You look very handsome, Oldest Brother."

Hei-ying tilted his head gratefully, "I may look the part . . ." he murmured warningly, "but I don't feel it just yet . . ." he sighed deeply, "Perhaps I will soon . . ."

Yue glanced at him sharply, "What do you remember now?"

Hei-ying frowned at Yue's tone, "Just being sealed now . . . the memory is blurry because I only have impressions of the outside of my book . . ." he looked at Yue closely, "Why?"

"Your memories of Mystrasa Kyree may be more painful . . ." Yue admitted softly, "I don't know much of what you went through with her, just the end . . . but you suggested once that it was very painful . . ."

Hei-ying stared at Yue for a long moment before stepping forward, and raising his hand to cup Yue's pale cheek lightly. "What could be more painful than the time I spent alone with Clow?" Hei-ying asked quietly, Yue swallowed as Hei-ying leant closer, and threaded his fingers into Yue's hair softly. The familiar scent of spring and rain hit Yue; bringing a thousand and one memories back. He shoved the revulsion down as hard as he could, as Hei-ying spoke calmly into his ear.  

"I spent ten years alone with our manically depressive creator . . ." Hei-ying's fingers were cool as they stroked back and forth between Yue's hair and his cheek. "I thought I was in heaven . . . it didn't matter he drank until he could do nothing but scream hateful words at me . . . I thought when he came stumbling into my room in the middle of the night, and he took my body until I lay bleeding, that it was some wonderful kind of love . . ."

Yue's eyes were wide, his hands useless by his side as Hei-ying continued to whisper.

". . . I came to believe he never spoke to me because he couldn't find the words to describe his feelings of love for me . . ."

Yue's pale pink lips parted and fell open as Hei-ying leant away from him. Hei-ying stared at him with eyes that were cold and devoid of any emotion as he spoke in a low tone. His cool fingers slowly trailed away from Yue's as he continued to stare unblinkingly into Yue's widened eyes. 

"Clow Reed was indeed a very strange man . . . with many . . . many problems . . ."

Yue frowned, unable to understand or correlate Hei-ying's memory of Clow Reed to his wonderful creator. Hei-ying stepped away and turned to walk toward Sakura and the rest. They hadn't noticed the almost silent confession. Hei-ying paused and turned back to Yue. 

He tilted his head thoughtfully; "I suppose . . ." he continued in the same cold tone, "I was one of them . . ."

----------------------

And Now It's Time For  LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Lucky! It's a DOUBLE UPDATE THIS WEEK!! [holds up victory Sign]

Hei-ying: [folds arms] because you didn't update last week?

DrM: [winces] well . . . I, uh, kinda forgot to send my beta reading on time and it got back to me kinda. . . late. . .

Hei-ying: Oh . . . Doctor M. . .

DrM: [bows] Gomen nasai! Please go to the next chapter, and please leave me a review! Thank you!!


	9. Hong Kong

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Eight: Hong Kong

Xie-Xie . . . 

Eriol tipped his head to the air stewardess as she walked away. He glanced at his fellow passengers. Touya had fallen asleep; in his lap Spinel sat in his false form, dozing slightly, and Syaoran was gazing thoughtfully out of the window. They sat in the luxury three-seat row, window side of the plane. The three travelled second class to China, well aware that they were going to be away from the time-protected mansion for much longer than they would from Japan. Syaoran sighed. He hadn't returned to China since the elders had blocked his marriage to Sakura. His mother had been bitterly disappointed with the stubborn elders who still refused to accept a person of foreign blood – even if that blood was of one of the most powerful magicians in the world. 

He stared out as they made the short journey, they were going to travel to the magical centre of Eastern Magic. 

Hong Kong. 

//Are you apprehensive, Little Wolf?//

He blinked and turned to look at Eriol, as the other drank. The question had been uttered mentally. Syaoran sighed and replied, //Not really. . . more like . . .//

//Weary of having to deal with people who are too stubborn?//

//Perhaps. . .// Syaoran closed his eyes and allowed the conversation to continue, //Do you remember having to deal with the Li family at all?//

//Not anymore . . .// Eriol replied evenly, he reached over and pulled Spinel Sun into his lap, allowing his fingers to lightly stroke of the cat's ears. //Since Clow's soul and memories left me, I have nothing but vague impressions . . . frustration is a feeling Clow has left me with regarding the Li family.// He smiled slightly as he took a sip of his drink again, //Of course . . . having to deal with the oracles could have had something to do with that . . .//

//Don't remind me!// Syaoran groaned quietly, and slid until his head hit the wall. He slouched there for a few moments, before opening his eyes to stare out. The white clouds parted and revealed they were flying over land. He stared down, and watched as Hong Kong Airport came into view.

He closed his eyes again and swallowed, at least he would be meeting his sisters and Wei first at the airport.

"AAAAAHHHHH!! Syaoran!! Our Little brother!! AAHHHH!!!"

Syaoran sighed as his four sisters placed him under their strangle hold, Wei smiled bemusedly, before taking Eriol's small bag, "This way please . . ." Touya yawned as he sidestepped the four sisters and followed Eriol as they walked toward the Li cars. Shaking his head, he leant over and whispered to Eriol, "Do you think they ever let up?" 

"I very much doubt it . . ." Eriol smiled as he leant over and got into the first car with Wei. He glanced over as Syaoran shrugged off his sisters and quickly got into the same car, "My impression from Clow when he first met his aunts is fear of their tendency to pull very hard at his cheek. . ."

Touya smiled, "Well . . ." he sat back and nodded to Wei, "Let's make good on this trip. . ."

"Ahhhh . . . sugoi . . . Bubbles, only a little bit please . . . I don't want to be coughing up soap for the next few days. . ."

As the Bubbles card nodded, and waved her wand over the foamy mass, Keroberos peered over the rim of the bathtub. He chuckled as he clawed the tap to close, and dipped one hairy paw into the water. "Mmm . . . just right . . ." he hummed, and dipped his head so he could claw at his heavy bronze helmet. It came off slowly, blinding him for a moment as he flattened out his ears so they wouldn't get caught as he pulled.

The door opened and there was an unfamiliar chuckle.

Keroberos jerked up and frowned deeply, he was blinded by the helmet which was now stuck halfway off his head, "Who's there?!"

There were a few quiet footsteps, and a sharp tug at the helmet. Keroberos blinked dizzily for a moment before his foucs came in on Hei-ying. The dark angel raised an eyebrow and glanced at the helmet in his hands, "I do believe you're getting fat, Keroberos . . ."

"What do you want?!" Keroberos growled hotly as his elder brother straightened and placed the helmet on the side. Hei-ying swung open the window, and stared out for a moment before deigning to answer. "Yue mentioned that you'd need some help . . ." Hei-ying turned and snorted, "And he asked me to give you a hand rather than allow Ruby Moon to . . ." 

"Talk about your choices between the devil and death . . ." Keroberos sighed, and turned away to look in to the steaming water, "Well for your information, I don't think I want any help . . . particularly from you . . ."

"What? You don't want me to help scrub behind your ears?" Hei-ying smirked and lifted a washcloth from the shelf, and dipped it in the water. He glanced at Keroberos, and rolled up his sleeves. Keroberos eyed him for a moment before hopping into the water with a big splash. He chuckled as Hei-ying swore in German, and sank deeper into the water. He dipped his head under for a moment, before rising again to stare at Hei-ying. The green eyed being glared at him, as he gurgled water. Keroberos spat his mouthful out and smirked, "I don't want you anywhere near me . . ."

"Oh, but Keroberos . . ." Hei-ying wrung out the washcloth and reached out for some soap, "Don't you remember how good I am with water?"

Keroberos blinked, and stared at him before murmuring coldly, "I know exactly how good you are with water . . ." 

Hei-ying looked up at the sudden change of tone, then down again. He sighed, "I'm sorry . . ." he mumbled, he sighed and started to scrub Keroberos' side with the cloth, "Tomoyo-san suggested that I work on my sense of humour . . ."

"Well . . ." Keroberos breathed out and cleared his throat, "Just don't around me and Yue . . ." he eyed Hei-ying, "Your brand of humour needs Clow Reed's level of strangeness . . ."

Hei-ying nodded before smirking again, "You know . . . I don't think we've ever been this close . . ." he reached up and pulled Keroberos' earring ear forward, "without trying to kill each other that is . . ."

"You're probably right . . ." Keroberos closed his eyes as Hei-ying scrubbed behind the ear, "maybe . . ."

"You just don't want to admit that I'm right about anything, do you?"

"Not particularly . . ." Keroberos huffed again and lifted his chin, "You always got this wacko glint in your beady little eyes when Clow told you, you were right about something . . ."

"And you didn't when he rewarded you with pudding?"

"Hey, my lust for pudding never killed anyone . . ." Keroberos opened his eyes when Hei-ying didn't reply. He stared at the dark headed angel as he continued to wash his younger brother. Hei-ying's face betrayed nothing; the tears and hysterics of the previous weeks had stopped leaving behind a collected being with a calmness that was a little disturbing. Keroberos sighed, "I'm sorry, I said I'd try and cut out the jibes . . ."

Hei-ying didn't respond for a moment before murmuring, "It's okay . . ." Hei-ying scratched the top of Keroberos' head, "I suppose I walked into that one . . ."

"Hey . . ." Keroberos began and paused, he frowned and began again. "What's changed in you?"

Hei-ying smiled a very small smile, "I don't know . . . hindsight maybe . . ." he shrugged and dipped the cloth into the water again, "Maybe it's because my place here isn't definite, I could be sealed away or killed at any moment, if I want to survive I have to change . . ."

"I knew you had an ulterior motive . . ." Keroberos snorted disdainfully, "You're not remorseful at all, you don't care about what you've done, you just want to survive!"

"Does it make you feel better to hear that?"

"It's in keeping with your character . . ." Keroberos looked at him, "But . . ." the lion moved so he could prop his paws on the rim, and leant over to peer into Hei-ying face, "Your eyes say you are lying again . . ." 

Jade eyes stared back at him, blinking slowly. Keroberos nudged his muzzle closer, "Yue told me that he could see the real me . . . he said the real me is hidden sometimes, but as my brother, he could always see the real me . . ." Keroberos' gold eyes glinted slightly, "I think I know what he means now . . ." he blinked and whispered, "I see you, Hei-ying . . ."

Hei-ying's pale brow creased into a small frown, "What do you see?"

"I see . . ." Keroberos paused, and looked at Hei-ying. He saw a magical creation that'd been to hell and back. When he looked at Hei-ying, he saw Yue when the young angel had first appeared before Sakura. A bitterly angry creature, which believed so much in the good points of Clow Reed that he forgot the bad. Keroberos had never really understood how he'd survived Clow's arrogant curse; the inability to consider that there was a dark side to every being. Maybe it was because Keroberos had never really been one of them, he was the animal guardian after all, and he'd never been a humanoid so maybe that explained his perspective. He knew Clow was a good person, but he was exceedingly strange, he was very nice and kind, but he was also impulsive and eccentric. Fujitaka and Eriol were the sum of Clow's good side, but Kyree proved that Clow's dark feelings were always boiling below the surface. Keroberos had only ever known Clow as a good person, but it didn't take a genius to realise that Hei-ying swore the way he did, learnt to be so cruel from the only person he'd ever known. Clow was always going to be a fond memory, but Hei-ying's very personality showed an amplification of Clow's more hidden traits taken to the extreme. 

He looked at his elder brother and saw what his wretched life had done to him. 

Even though Hei-ying's body had been restored almost as if it was the first day he'd been created, the jade eyes that looked out from that pale face . . . they'd seen things, the person behind them had done things darker than death . . . and things dark than death had been done to him . . . 

Keroberos lifted a paw and gently clawed a lock of hair away from Hei-ying's forehead. 

"I see . . . nothing . . ."

Hei-ying closed his eyes and sighed heavily as Keroberos hummed a little. The lion grinned widely as Hei-ying's guard dropped. He reached forward, and hooked his claws expertly into Hei-ying's clothing, "Nothing but a drowned rat that is!!" He hollered as he dragged Hei-ying into the bathtub.

_"Keroberos!!"_

Hong Kong never changes.

Spinel had never been to the place and yet he knew it, ever street, every river. He sat on his master's shoulder and gazed about. They had left the mansion shortly after Hei-ying had revealed his brand new uniform. While he was revelling in the peace and quiet away from his vociferous twin creation, Spinel also found himself missing her slightly. Ruby was the other half of him, always. However trying she was on his nerves, Spinel didn't think he could survive one day without her in the world. He knew this was because of the spells that bound them to each other for eternity, but even then . . . Spinel was fairly certain even if they were both humans, despite their differences, he would stay by her side forever. 

He sighed, and moved a little closer to his master's neck. 

"Feeling a bit lonely, Spinel?"

The midnight blue creation winced slightly and whispered back, "Am I really that obvious?"

"No . . ." Eriol chuckled slightly as they made another turn, walking down toward the infamous bird street. "But you are my closest family, I can tell . . ." he reached up, and petted Spinel slightly, "I miss her too . . ."

Spinel felt a little better at this admission from his creator, and continued to look around. Bird Street loomed before them, the birds in their cages twittering wildly. The street was famous for the birds and infamous for being a meeting place for magicians. Some of the birds reacted strongly to the influx of magic; therefore you could tell when a new magician entered into the scene. As soon as Eriol, Touya and Syaoran stepped closer, many of the sellers and buyers turned in surprise as hundreds of birds went absolutely crazy in their cages. 

"Ah . . . It looks like I need not travel too far . . ." A voice made Eriol blink and turn, a man walked toward them, his arms spread. He was of Chinese descent, his eyes a striking dark grey. He smile cordially and bowed, "I am Kuei Maduokai . . . please, follow me."

The old Chinese house was unremarkable.

It was done in the traditional style, and was obviously based in the style of a water caster's traditional family manner. Depictions of rivers, and pools of water were carefully painted into the screen doors. Kuei Maduokai clapped his hands as he entered and the torches lit themselves. A small boy, with strange black and white hair came running, and bows sharply, "Master Kuei, welcome!" He bobbed up for a moment and then bowed deeply again, "Guests of Master Kuei, welcome!"

The three magicians glanced at each other before returning the bow. Spinel remained on Eriol's arm, before tipping his head. This was most certainly a very curious thing. Maduokai Kuei had simply come up to them, and said quite clearly, that he'd heard that they were looking for the missing bones of Clow Reed, and he was on his way to try and help them . . . he'd had some respect for the old magician, and wanted to assist them. He spoke of a way to find the bones, but had asked them to accompany him back to his little home so that they could rest. Syaoran was hesitant at first, he didn't want to trust anyone who had come out of nowhere with a mystical cure to their problem, but he also accepted that they were coming to a dead end. 

Kuei Maduokai smiled brightly, "I heard of your problems years ago, and have only recently found a solution to your problem . . . I was going to travel to Japan to track down the Clow Mistress . . ."

"Mistress Kinomoto . . ." Syaoran corrected almost instantly, he didn't like the man's oily attitude. 

"Master Kuei . . ." the three looked up as a youthful woman dressed in blue knelt in the doorway, her hands demurely in her lap, and her head tipped downward. "Tea is prepared now." 

Maduokai nodded, "Will Lady Asil be able to join us?"

"Indeed, Master Kuei . . ." The woman dipped her head, "By your leave, Master Kuei, I will fetch her . . ."

The Lady Asil was a beautiful woman.

Her demure kimono was extremely traditional, leaving Syaoran to suspect that her waist had been bound, and pulled in as tightly as it would go. She sat at the table, as they walked in, lifting her head only to nod to them once. They were surprised to notice that her face was hidden behind a geisha's makeup. She had long eyelashes that hid her eyes demurely, and she never looked them directly in the eye. The only thing that wasn't traditional about her was her hair. Her long black hair was left loose, unusually so that two locks fell either side of her head while the rest trailed down her back. Her fringe was cut short, and straight across her brow. She sat there, not even acknowledging the guests of her master as they sat.

"Forgive my Lady Asil . . ." Maduokai sank down beside her and patted her hand, "She's one of my first more complex creations, unfortunately for me. . ." he sighed, "She doesn't seem to have much of a personality . . ." he smiled at the three magicians as he lifted a lock of her hair slightly, "but she's beautiful to look at, no?"

"Creation?" Eriol questioned quietly, "I didn't realise you had that much power. . . you keep it well hidden. . ."

"Oh, I'm not so powerful as the late Clow Reed or yourself for that matter . . ." Maduokai motioned Spinel, "my creations are merely ghosts and illusions made flesh . . . nothing so very complex. . . when I do not need my creations, they are independent, they draw much of their magic from other sources. . ."

Syaoran paid little attention to the conversation, continuing to stare at the woman Maduokai called Asil. She was so. . .

"Beautiful?" Maduokai interrupted his thoughts, with an amused tint to his voice, "I'm sorry, but my dear Lady Asil is not for sale . . ."

"No!" Syaoran blushed deeply before explaining, "She reminds me of a cousin . . ." he glanced at the others, "Meilin. . . don't you think she looks like Meilin . . .?"

Asil's eyelids twitched slightly, and Maduokai's smile seemed to turn a degree colder. "You are of the Li Clan. . .?"

Syaoran blinked and looked at him, "Yes, I am. . . in fact I am the Head of the Li Clan . . ." 

"I'm sorry . . ." Maduokai dipped his head respectfully, "I didn't realise . . . Asil heard of the . . . unpleasantness that occurred, she was much upset about it . . ." he turned to address the woman, "Asil, please take some tea to our other guest, and inform the others that we leave soon . . ."

She nodded, and stood gracefully. Taking one of the trays of tea with her, she paused only by the door to turn and nod to the guest once before slipping out the door. 

"You're leaving?" Touya questioned quietly, as Maduokai sipped his tea. "Where are you going?"

"With you, of course . . ." Maduokai smiled widely again, "I can help you find Clow Reed's skull . . ."

"Oh really?" Touya raised an eyebrow, "And how will you do that, when we've been searching for three years and found nothing?"

"Ah . . . but have you had nearly a decade of training in the Egyptian Magic Arts?" 

"There are none." Eriol set down his cup firmly, and stared at Maduokai. "I've made it my life's business to study all types of magic . . . Egyptian Magic is a dead art."

"Perhaps for the more powerful magicians who rely on the Western and Eastern magica alone . . ." Maduokai waved his hand, "but I managed to track down a small nomadic tribe of Magi who still taught the old arts, handed down from father to son, mother to daughter since the time of the Pharaoh . . ." 

Eriol didn't look very happy with this, but Touya leant forward, "And you want to help us because?"

"Like I said," Maduokai smiled broadly, "I want to help . . . I've been a grand . . . admirer, shall we say, of the great man . . ." he leant back and smiled, "My family have had very close links with him, once . . ."

"Really?" Eriol raised an eyebrow, "The Kuei Clan? I've not heard of them . . ."

"I am the last surviving member of my family . . ." The dark grey eyes narrowed slightly, "Surely you can appreciate that I wish to honour my dead family . . . by returning a favour . . ."

"Of course," Touya frowned, and glanced at Eriol, "But you can understand that we are conscious that this offer seems to come from the blue. We cannot take any chances . . ."

"But of course . . ." Maduokai smiled, "Which is why I want to help. Naturally I will wait a few days, to allow you to return and tell you kin that help is at hand . . ."

Touya spared Eriol and Syaoran another look, before turning to Maduokai. He tipped his head to the smiling man, "Of course . . ."

_Darkness . . . _

_He waited, so patiently, he waited. _

_There was a soft step by the door, hesitation, his master hesitated. But that was all right, it was the anticipation . . . another night of love. He smiled, to feel his master's fingers as they ran through his hair. He almost cried . . . with the joy that came into his soul. This joy that was so claustrophobic, it made his chest tighten, his hands shake uncontrollably, his eyes water. His stomach rolled with over excitement. He wasn't alone. His master would soon wind his fist tightly into his hair, and pull him so close. _

_Hei-ying couldn't decide what he loved more . . ._

_The feeling of Clow's hand in his hair, tight, so very tight that it hurt or this, the feeling before he came in. _

_Both hurt, they hurt so much . . . so much that he almost wanted to cry, but one day . . . Clow would make the pain go away, but for now, Hei-ying had to withstand the pain. _

_The door creaked open, and Hei-ying opened his eyes. _

_Ah . . . his fine master, his handsome creator . . . _

_Clow leant on the doorframe and stared in, a slow smile appearing on his lips, his dark blue eyes were cold. But Hei-ying would fix that; Hei-ying would light a fire in those eyes that would take nearly five hundred years to extinguish. Hei-ying smiled for his master, once . . . Clow had told him, his smile was a thing of beauty . . . _

_Hei-ying swore that he would keep his smile only for Clow . . . _

_The handsome blue eyes seemed to freeze colder. "Hei-ying . . ." Clow murmured as he stepped in, "why do you smile so?"_

_"Only for you, master . . . only for you . . ."_

_Clow's hand, his fine hand, his warm hand, lashed out instantly, and struck the angel hard. Pain screamed across his face, but Hei-ying kept smiling, only for Clow, only for Clow . . ._

_His fist grabbed the angel's hair, and wound into the black locks tightly as he dragged the angel off the bed and threw him to the floor, and Hei-ying . . . pushing himself up to look at his beautiful master . . . could only smile, yes it hurt now . . . but soon . . . soon . . . Clow's strong hand yanked again, dragging the angel to him. Pulling, ripping, tearing, their clothes were abandoned. _

_Wrapping his hands gently around his master's strong shoulders, Hei-ying smiled . . . oh, how was he loved! Clow' anger had melted away as soon as it had came, and here they were entwined together for rare moments as his master slept. The juices of their bodies seeped uncomfortable from his body, but Hei-ying could nearly weep. He was so loved, so cherished; Clow had fallen asleep in his arms . . . _

_His smile grew . . ._

_Oh, to be together like this for eternity . . . for Hei-ying to hold his fine master, his handsome creator forever in his arms, his warm breath dancing over his bruised collar bone, his large hands still tightly twined in his hair. Hei-ying knew . . . oh, he knew he was so very loved, Clow would not hold him, touch him, hurt him so if it was not love . . ._

_Would he?_

_. . . his eyes glazed over, as he stared at the dark green canopy, as his smile froze into place. His heart was breaking, he was too happy . . . that's what caused the tears to roll from his eyes, he was too happy! His master loved him, and only him. . .  he carefully folded in his smile, allowed it to fall from his face as he carefully placed it away like he did his clothes, ready to show to Clow the next time. _

_And the next._

_And the next._

_And the next._

_And the . . ._

His eyes came open slowly.

It was still dark, so he didn't really register he was awake until the movement in his room moved again. Hei-ying sat up and looked around, his eyes coming to rest on the woman standing in his doorway. He waved his hand over the lamp by his bedside, and looked at the woman. She hesitated for a moment longer, wringing her hands.

 "I . . ." she sighed and stepped into the light. Ruby Moon, dressed in her dressing gown and nightie, brushed back a lock of hair, "Ano, ne?" she murmured, "I thought I heard you crying . . . and . . ." she blushed slightly, "Oldest Cousin, I was wondering . . ."

Hei-ying sat up in bed, "please . . . have a seat . . ." he tilted his head and stated quietly, "you aren't usually this timid."

"Just because I'm super cute all day . . ." She smiled weakly as she continued, "I worried that you were . . . not well again. . ."

He dipped his head and stared at his hands as they rested in his lap. The bed shifted, as Ruby got up, "you know. . . I used to have bad nightmares . . . I used to have to sleep in the same room as Suppi, because I felt so safe with him . . ." she sighed and sat closer, "it helped when I talked to him. . ."

Hei-ying's hands clenched, "there's nothing to talk about. . ."

"I'd say that too . . ." Ruby continued, apparently unaware of Hei-ying's reluctance to talk about it. "I'd tell Suppi that I didn't wanna tell him what scared me so much . . . because I was afraid he'd look down those stupid little glasses of his, and then ignore me . . ."

Hei-ying's knuckles turned deathly white.

"I didn't think I could ever take that, I love Suppi . . . I really do . . . I couldn't bare to be away from him for a whole day, and to have him leave me . . ." Ruby shook her head, "it was too horrible to think about . . ." 

Hei-ying's jade eyes slid shut.

"And then the sickness came, the Ying-yang syndrome . . ." Ruby smiled as she brushed another lock of hair back, "Eriol had to create a human form, only a temporary form for Spinel . . ." 

_The moon glinted of his glasses as he took them off. _

_She watched them as he laid them on the bedside table, and his hand pressed softly against her cheek. Rolling over she looked up into the pale features of her magic's opposite. Spinel made a handsome human, a sharp nose like she, his features were almost exactly like hers only where there was rose pinks and reds, there was midnight blue and dark purples. . . Spinel's eyes danced as he nudged her nose with his. _

_His voice, a deep tenor, just as it was in his full form sent shivers in her body. _

_"Oh, I've longed to do this . . ." he whispered, as she raised her hands to smooth them over his shoulders. "Ruby . . ." a smile curled in his lips as he kissed her, "I won't let your nightmares bother you . . . not tonight . . ."_

_Smiling, she reached for him again, his soft lips pressing against hers once more, as she whispered back, "but the other nights . . ."_

_"Tell me . . ." his hand traced up her body, his shoulder muscles moved under her own fingers, "tell me about them . . . I won't leave you . . ."_

_The moonlight, and Spinel's warm body covering hers intoxicated Ruby so much so she parted her lips and began to speak._

"It did me the world of good!" 

Hei-ying's eyes snapped open as Ruby bounced on to his bed, "So!" She grinned up at him, "Tell me what's wrong with you?" Hei-ying stared at her for a long moment, before raising a hand and touching her cheek gently, "No . . . I wouldn't want to bring back your nightmares . . ." 

Ruby blinked with surprise, a light blush spreading over her features. 

He was looking at her with such a look of melancholy, "Ruby-chan . . ." he shifted, so he could get out of bed, and held out his hand to help her up, "Why don't we go to the kitchen and begin breakfast . . . I don't want to sleep anymore . . ."

A long time . . . away . . .

Sakura frowned as she turned, the darkness surrounded her but it was not scary. She looked down at her feet her magic circle again. There was a shower of Sakura blossoms, rain, snowflakes, Sakura blossoms twirled around her in a beautiful dance. She smiled as she raised her hands to cup them, but blinked as everything around her faded. 

She was sitting on a branch, staring down. A small smile spread across her face. 

She was sat in a very tall tree, and cherry blossoms surrounded her. Below her, Yue and Keroberos, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon, and Hei-ying stared up at her. The blossoms floated down all around them almost glowing as they fell from the tree on a gentle breeze. There was a light chuckle from her left, as a beautiful girl raised her hand to cover her laughter. Her tumbling purple hair curled around her pale features as her almost transparent wings fluttered with a gleam of violet. Her fringe tumbled forward, as her shoulders shook with her mirth. Sakura peered at her, she'd never seen this woman before . . . although she looked like . . .

There was a snort from her side; a snow tiger licked its paw, its eyes closed peacefully. It too had see through wings. Sakura felt like she should have been gawking at these strange new creatures but instead she felt herself turn to smile down at the five creations below her. 

Standing behind Yue and Keroberos was a boy, a teenaged boy with long brown hair. He stared up at her with dark blue eyes, and a shocked expression. "Why?" He asked quietly, "Why are you . . .?"

Sakura felt pride well up in her heart as she stood up on the branch, her guardians standing with her.

"In this life . . ."

And then she was falling. 

_Water._

_"Water . . . is something that flows . . ."_

_She was falling through water!_

_Arms spread wide and caught her. "Sakura . . ." her hands came up to press hard against her face as she began to apologise. She peeked her eye open, and blinked as a warm smile greeted her. Clow Reed stared back at her; he raised his hand and touched her cheek._

_"Forces are stirring Sakura, forces that are beyond my control. . ." his smile faded, and his eyes opened. Clow's glasses fell from his face, as he stared at her with fear growing in his eyes. "Who are you?!"_

_"Clow?"_

_"I don't know you . . ." he let go of her and stumbled back. Sakura went to run after him, but . . . she found herself running into the downstairs study. Light poured into the room, as she found herself slowing to a stop and coming across Clow again, this time with a winged angel in his arms. The light was so blinding, Sakura could barely make out any features. The angel stepped out of Clow's embrace, and walked toward her. The angel tilted his head, his features completely hidden by the blinding light. Sakura tried to hold up her hand, and reach out, but the angel stepped back. "Yue?"_

_"I'm sorry Sakura . . . please . . ." Yue's voice sounded almost too calm for even him, "Please tell Touya that . . . I want to be with Clow . . ."_

_"Are you sure . . .?" Sakura couldn't believe herself, "why was she so calm about this?! Yue was betraying her brother!!" He knelt before her and smiled, the light highlighting his cheekbones and lips as he raised a hand and pressed it against her cheek. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm sure he won't take it too hard . . . but are you very sure you want to leave him?"_

_The angel shook his head and turned, the light glowing on his profile as he murmured, "I want to be with Clow, not him . . . for the rest of eternity . . ."_

"Yue!!" Sakura felt close to tears, "Stop it please!! Yue!!" She felt hot tears track down her cheeks, and her fists strike something as she lashed out. It broke the dream, and the Dream Card floated away. "Na-nani?!" Sakura choked out, as she opened her eyes. Kero leant over her, clearly concerned and wincing as her fists lowered from his head. "Kero-chan?"

"You were having a dream . . . Sakura . . ." he stared at her deeply, "What was it about? What was Yue doing?!"

Sakura blinked for a few moments, "I don't . . ." she glanced out the window, as the lion sat back. "I don't remember . . ." She frowned, "but . . . Clow-sama . . . Clow-sama said that forces were stirring . . . forces that were beyond his control . . ." 

"Clow Reed . . . once again . . ." he was silent for a long moment, the large lion taking the time to watch Sakura carefully. Kero's golden eyes narrowed, "what else did you see?"

The moonlight continued to stream in through the windows, Sakura continued to stare out of the window.

"Water . . . Kero-chan, water is something that flows . . ."

-----------------------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Short AN's Today, simply because I'm in a bit of a rush!! Demo! Please take the time to R&R!! I don't write for reviews, but I do like to know what you think of what is happening!! [big shimmery eyes] Pwease!

Hei-ying: Review! Oh, please Review! Just stop her chibi-cuteness!!


	10. Spell Caster

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Nine: Spell Caster

"And he wants what in return?"

Touya raised an eyebrow at Hei-ying. The angel's question was posed calmly with clear thought behind it. Hei-ying was sat, kneeling beside him. The changes in the guardian frankly amazed him; Touya could hardly believe that the dark angel beside him could have killed so many, attending his new master so discreetly. Occasionally, Hei-ying would catch Touya's curious glance and glare ever so slightly. Touya did not assume Hei-ying's outward compliance was as seamless as it appeared, he wasn't naïve enough to believe in the week he and the others had been away, Hei-ying had completely changed his outlook . . . and yet . . .

Touya could see what a struggle Hei-ying was undergoing.

When it would have been easier to sneer and insult, Touya saw Hei-ying swallow and clench his fists. Every so often, Touya could see Hei-ying wincing slightly as if in actual pain, but he dismissed this. The servile position he'd taken beside Touya's chair was more to serve as a reminder to himself that he was Touya's guardian than to show actual respect to his new master. While Yue stood behind Sakura, and Keroberos sat on her left side, Ruby Moon stood behind the sofa, resting her hand on the back of the seat near Tomoyo. Spinel Sun sat beside Eriol, the blue haired magician occasionally petted the panther thoughtfully. Syaoran sat in a chair nearby Sakura, on the opposite side to Touya. The five humans formed a loose circle, their creations and magical servants guarding them as they spoke. 

Sakura looked down into her lap for a moment, "I agree with Hei-ying . . . what are his terms?" She asked quietly, after some contemplation of the facts lay before her and the others. Ruby considered the five masters. They had all grown, and yet it seemed that only a few days ago they had been only children. That was the most painful thing, she thought, that she would continue to exist in this teenager's body, while her master and his beautiful wife grew older and would inevitably die. Eriol might survive his wife by decades or centuries; he could; the amount of magic he possessed far outweighed Tomoyo's, but most likely – Ruby looked at their clasped hands – Eriol would chose to die like Clow had, rather than face the rest of his natural life without his sweet wife. 

Who knows . . . Syaoran murmured, he sighed completely dissatisfied with that answer, he was very insistant on the fact he wanted to repay Clow Reed a debt owed.

Keroberos glanced over at his eldest brother. Hei-ying looked thoughtful for a moment, his mind obviously processing the conversation quickly, planning, strategising. The lion glanced up, Yue too was thinking although his pace of thought seemed a little slower, more careful than Hei-ying. It was clear of the three brothers, Hei-ying thought, processed, and planned the fastest. It was his nature, his very existence was supposed to be dedicated to helping the Cardcaptor capture the cards easily. Of the three, Hei-ying was always most analytical, unfailingly logical and ruthless. While Keroberos was the more emotional and impulsive, less analytical and 'academic' but his strong personality enabled him to do things whereas Yue, for instance, would have remained inactive; Yue was their dreamer. Loathed to admit it, while Hei-ying was callous in his thinking, Yue was the one whose mind ran in several directions, trying every possible route before action. Keroberos would act long before Hei-ying and Yue, but even he had to admit his strengths had never lied in his mind. Hei-ying who was so very intelligent had to rely on information presented to him, he had to rely on the facts he wasn't one able to imagine anything other that what he could strategise. Yue's strength was that he was careful, he was a dreamer. Imagination of spells, actions, movements. It was the reason his movements were always more graceful, how he seemed to capture the very beauty of the moon with his ever unconscious gesture. It was Yue's internal beauty that gifted and rendered his external beauty so spell binding. This difference between the two thinking brother was obvious to Keroberos, why he could never mistake Hei-ying for Yue, nor the other way around. Keroberos glanced between the two as they both thought. Hei-ying had reached his conclusion now. The lion's thick lips twisted into a deep frown. He'd had never liked the idea that Hei-ying was always a step ahead of everyone else. The jade eyes blinked and the angel looked up. "It is a trap." 

Touya glanced down at Hei-ying, "How do you know?"

"No one offers to expend so much magical power without expecting some sort of return . . . if his intensions are good, then perhaps he expects some sort of reward . . ."

"What kind of reward?" Touya frowned and sank back in his chair. "Money?" 

"Most likely magic, or perhaps power . . . even the promise of Mistress Sakura's protection would carry a lot of weight in the magic world . . ." Yue murmured, he sighed and placed a hand on his hip before shaking his head. The silvery strands of his hair danced in the moonlight spilling from the window. "I do not like it . . . I suggest we reject his offer."

"I would concur, youngest brother . . ." Hei-ying huffed sharply and looked at Sakura, "However we appear to be at a loss . . . he glanced at all of the human magicians, Clow Reed and Mister Hilligans' bones still remain disturbed, we must make any and all attempts to track them down . . . we will have to accept his offer."

"You said it was a trap a moment ago . . ." Keroberos rumbled quietly, his back warmed by the fire roaring behind him, but his expression was held tightly, "Why the change of heart . . .?"

Hei-ying glared at his younger brother for a moment before explaining, "If it isn't, his help will be invaluable . . . if it is . . ." Hei-ying looked at the human masters again, his jade eyes catching the reflection of not only the cool, blue moonlight from outside but also the sharp flicker of the fire, "I am confident enough that we guardians will be able to protect you."

Touya nodded slowly as Eriol sighed. He glanced at his wife who stared evenly at Sakura. "Sakura-chan?"

The girl blinked, all eyes rested on her, "Nani?"

"Sakura-chan, he has requested that you aid him in this spell . . ." Eriol glanced at her then around to the others, "He isn't powerful enough to complete the spell himself, but he hopes to channel magic from the strongest of our group . . ."

Syaoran sat up and frowned, "Is it possible for him to keep any of the magic that he channels?"

"No." Eriol closed his eyes and sat back, "He can only channel, not store . . . Sakura would know instantly if he started to store magic and be able to cut him off. . ." He opened his eyes again and stared evenly at Sakura, "It is your choice . . ." He glanced at the clock, "He'll arrive here in three days . . ."

The sunset burnt reds and purples against a beautiful backdrop of midnight blues and oranges. 

T'amashu raised an appreciative eyebrow as his human form stepped up to the top of the stagecoach. Beside him, T'alusia was also in his human form, a fierce looking lean human with piercing red eyes, and short spiked maroon hair, sniffed irritably. The larger dragon was anxious to get on with the journey and cross the sea. 

Mushu smiled at this, it was only because his element was fire that T'alusia was so nervous. 

Beside him, T'listia smiled as she clambered up to sit. She brushed back a lock of her strange blue hair, and sighed. They waited for their master and his entourage of humans. 

"Have you got Clow Reed's skull?"

The three glanced down at their master, as he stared up at them. T'listia lifted the bag in her lap, the skull's jaw rattling slightly as she jostled it. "Here, master!" 

The magician smiled at them, "Good, good . . ." he nodded, "Give it to me . . . it shall travel with me . . ." 

T'listia's expression grew sour for a moment, before she climbed down. She handed over the bag, and stared at Maduokai for a moment longer. He smirked at her and petted her head with his free hand, "You may travel with me, in the cabin." 

"Thank you, master . . ." A sly smile grew on her lips as she glanced up at her fellow guardians, "I wouldn't want anything to happen to your prize . . ."

Mushu rolled his eyes as his fellow guardian fluttered her eyelids at their master. T'listia was a very powerful dragon, being the water element, but like all whose powers were derived from water magic, her narcissistic tendencies always seemed to take precedence over her duties as a guardian. Mushu would be willing to wager anything that the real reason his dear fellow guardian was happy to travel with their master in the cab of the coach was more to do with the fact that it wouldn't spoil her hairstyle more than actually protecting the skull of Clow Reed. Her sharp sapphire eyes sparked once more at them as she climbed into the cab.

The last of the bags were deposited safely on the back of the coach by the aid of a strong breeze, and Mushu looked up to see T'alas, the Third Dragon of the Four Winds move over them in slow circles of eight. The long golden yellowish green dragon sighed heavily, also eager to get underway. He would be carrying them across the sea and therefore had to remain in his dragon form. 

Like T'listia, T'alas was also very self-centred. As a being of the wind, T'alas was bored with everything, he'd seen it all, heard it all, there was nothing that really ever surprised him anymore. He grew bored very quickly, and was more content to sleep by himself in their cave. 

Mushu shook his head, running nimble fingers through his black and white streaked hair. He was going to look forward to the casting of the new spell, and to see if this man, this Clow Reed was really as dangerous as everyone implied.

//Let us go . . .// Their master's voice intoned telepathically. Mushu held on tightly, as T'alas picked them up, and began to fly them over the mountains that surrounded their hidden castle home.

Sakura looked down into her lap again. 

She sighed deeply and glanced at the window. They were sat in the downstairs study, the site of her latest vision. The card mistress frowned for a moment more before she looked at the others. "How will I channel the magic?"

"You could use the cards. . ." 

All eyes turned on Hei-ying. The dark angel's feline eyes were shut lightly as he spoke, "Then there would be a reduction in the amount of power he could possibly ricochet back toward you. . ."

"Aah?!" Kero frowned as stared at Hei-ying, "What in the hell are you talking about?!"

Jade eyes flicked open quickly and Hei-ying's glowing gaze turned on Keroberos. 

"I may not be the Advisor of the Clow, but I do still possess the knowledge of the cards . . ." Hei-ying's eyes narrowed as he held up his hand, "Now stop disturbing me!"

Sakura leapt from her seat as Keroberos' golden eyes rolled back in his head, and the powerful lion keeled over. Eriol stood, followed quickly by Touya. "What in the hell?!" Eriol demanded, he turned on Hei-ying, "How did you--?!"

Hei-ying sighed and lowered his head. He rose to his feet, and breathed for a moment or two. 

"I am capable of many things . . ." He whispered, lifting his head, Hei-ying's eyes glowed dimly. "Many things, or didn't Master Clow ever tell you?"

"Hei-ying?" Touya frowned at Hei-ying's tone, "What's wrong?!"

The dark angel shook his head as if he were in pain, and paced in a small circle. Tomoyo rose from her seat, and stepped back. Hei-ying looked like he was trapped in a nightmare. He swallowed hard, and raised his hands to his head. "Clow . . ." he ground out painfully, "Why . . .?"

"Oniichan?" Yue called to him, moving in front of Sakura quickly to protect them. Hei-ying shook his head violently, his shoulders shaking with his body's suddenly jerky movement. More sharply, Yue hissed. "Oniichan!" 

Ruby pulled Tomoyo back forcibly, and Spinel moved in front of his master. "Hei-ying . . ." warned the panther quietly, he glared at the being, as he stumbled away from them. Touya held out his hand in the guardian's stop motion. The dark angel took no notice as he stumbled away from him. He didn't seem to be in actual pain, but something deeper, deep within his heart, his mind, his very soul seemed to be hurting him so much. 

Sakura bit her lip in hesitation, and made her decision. She called out her key, pulling out her cards at the same time. "Windy . . ." she threw the card into the air, "Restrain Hei-ying in soft binds, protect him from himself!" She tapped it hard, and threw her arm out to point at the crazed angel, "Release!!"

As the Windy card was released, it caused a reaction in Hei-ying. 

Eriol grabbed his wife close, and frowned as he watched Hei-ying's reaction. The angel had suddenly stilled, and was turning slowly as the Windy dived toward.

"Stop."

Sakura gapped as Windy jolted to a stop docilely before Hei-ying. The angel lifted his hand, motioning swiftly with it. As Windy returned to her card form, Hei-ying stared at the human magicians. Yue growled quietly as he realised his brother was no longer aware of himself, "Oniichan! Yamete!" He made a ceasing motion with his hand, "I won't let you harm Mistress Sakura, but I don't want to hurt you!"

Hei-ying blinked slowly, his jade eyes were blank as he turned away from them. Touya frowned as Hei-ying opened the door and stormed out, "Hei-ying! I command you to stop!!"

The dark angel paused in the doorway. 

He turned slowly again, and stared at them without really seeing. "She's calling me . . . my mistress . . ." 

"Kyree?! Mystrasa Kyree?!" Tomoyo surged forward, "Hei-ying, Mystrasa-san is dead!! She died over four years ago!"

His jade eyes widened, "No! She is Clow reborn!" He shook his head, clutching at it as a new wave of mental agony hit, "My master came back for me! He never left me alone!"

"Hei-ying!" Ruby cried out, "You've got to hold on there! Hei-ying!!"

_"NO!!"_ Hei-ying threw his hand toward her; blasting a wave of invisible magic toward her, _"Leave me alone!" _

Spinel rushed over and cushioned his sister's fall, as Eriol dragged his wife out of the way. Tomoyo winced as Eriol's fingers dug into her shoulders; she opened her eyes to see Hei-ying turn his attention on Sakura. He held his hand out, and made a very familiar motion with his fingers. 

Yue looked around himself with horror as Hei-ying used the same technique he had during the final judgement to call out the cards. Sakura shook her head, "Iie! Not my cards!!" She looked at Hei-ying pleadingly, "Hei-ying-san, please, please wake up!!"

"Watery, Woody, I the Advisor Call . . . Attend me!"

There was a snap of jade green magic around the cards, as they resisted. Hei-ying snarled, held out his hand, his magic circle glowing strongly under his feet. "Attend Me!"

The Watery and the Woody struggled as they were drawn toward the confused guardian. Syaoran jumped over the chairs, past Touya, and swung his sword toward the guardian. 

"Shield."

Syaoran was thrown back as Hei-ying used the shield to defend himself. The angel stared at him for a moment, his hardened expression softening, "Clow's magic . . . you . . ." the blank gaze returned coldly, hardening Hei-ying's features again, "You are not him!"

"Hei-ying! Please Stop this!" Spinel called out as his sister got to her feet, "There's no need!"

"Quiet! I need to think!" Hei-ying growled savagely, "I can't think with all this noise!"

Once again, Hei-ying's hand came up and like Keroberos before him, Spinel's midnight blue eyes rolled back, and the sun guardian fell unconscious. "Kisama!" Swore Ruby violently, "Enough of this!!" She drew up her bow and arrow and aimed for Hei-ying, "Stop this madness now! Wake Up!"

A cruel smirk twitched Hei-ying's lip. "Watery, Woody."

Ruby Moon screamed as the Watery created a black pond under her feet, and the Woody reached out of the darkness and dragged her down into it. Eriol lurched forward as his moon guardian disappeared into the floor with a loud splash.

"Freeze."

The Freeze card dived toward the pond and froze it before Eriol could reach the edge. The blue haired former reincarnation stared down with abject horror as his moon guardian thumped on the glassy surface of the water, struggling to hold her breath and not be dragged down by the Woody at the same time. "NO!" Eriol cried out, as Ruby let out a scream of air bubbles. He called out his staff instantly and started to hack at the ice, "Ruby!!"

"Yamete Hei-ying!!" Yue called out as his brother reached forward for more cards. "Please!!" Yue ground out helplessly as he stood between Hei-ying and Sakura, "Please don't make me kill you!"

Touya growled as he called out his own staff, "Hei-ying, I command you to stop! NOW!!"

Hei-ying's blank, glowing gaze fell on the dark haired boy, "you're . . . not . . . Clow!" Hei-ying's features twisted with pain, "YOU'RE NOT CLOW!! _YOU'RE NOT CLOW!!"_

"He's dead!! Kyree is dead! Hei-ying, Onegai!!" Tomoyo called out as she ran past her husband and his fallen guardians, "Please stop this!!" She ran up to the edge of his glowing magic circle and held out her hand, "Please!"

Once again, a crack in the angel's delusion appeared, and his features softened, "Tomoyo . . . chan . . . where is he?" Hei-ying closed his eyes briefly, "I hear him . . . calling me . . ."

"Hei-ying! You hear us!" Tomoyo pleaded, "Please . . ."

"Tomoyo-chan! Sakura called out, Onegai!! Watch out!!"

The purple haired girl made the singular mistake of turning her head. Taking her gaze off Hei-ying, and leaving herself open to attack . . .

". . . Hei-ying . . ."

In the black velvet bag, on the seat between them, the skull of Clow Reed resonated, vibrated with undirected power.

The woman looked down as Lord Kuei pulled the skull out of its travelling bag; he frowned as he stared at the once powerful magician's skull. "Who is calling you . . .?" He blinked and glanced out of his enchanted stagecoach's window, glancing down as the wind dragon carried them across the sea. The water reflecting a distorted picture of them as they passed above it quickly. "What is calling you so strongly . . .?"

The darkened pits of Clow's eye sockets stared out, with a blank stare.

". . . Hei-ying . . ."

"TOMOYO!!"

Eriol cried after his wife as Hei-ying lurched forward and grabbed her by the throat. "Release her!!" The powerful young magician demanded, as the guardian took a step back. Hei-ying's lips leered into a smile, "Why should I?" 

There was a bright ice blue flash of light as it streamed past the side of his head, and neatly sliced thru a few loose strands of hair.

Hei-ying's jade eyes narrowed, "Yue . . ." 

The angel drew back his bowstring again and shifted his aim slightly, The next shot will not miss, Hei-ying! Yue warned him darkly, his cold whisper barely containing his complete fury at his elder brother. "Release. Her. Now!"

A vicious glint took over the blank jade eyes as Hei-ying's grasp over Tomoyo's mouth suddenly shifted sharply. Tomoyo gasped as Hei-ying snapped her head back hard. 

"Tomoyo!" Eriol called out desperately as his wife's eyes fluttered shut. Hei-ying smiled darkly as he released her and let her limp body fall to the floor. 

"Noooo!!" Sakura screamed out, "Tomoyo-chan!!"

Tomoyo's knees hit the floor hard, as the girl's head lolled forward. The long purple hair spilled over the red carpet as Tomoyo fell forward. Hei-ying stared at his brother for a long moment, before he stooped over and picked up Tomoyo. She lay in his arms as if dead, as the angel stepped backwards and smiled darkly. 

". . . Jump . . ."

Sakura reached out futilely as the card spun out of her way, and gave Hei-ying's feet small, jade green wings. Yue gritted his teeth and aimed for his brother, "Hei-ying . . ." He murmured, fear for both his brothers jostling for his heart with the his duty to his mistress, "why are you doing this?!"

The angel let loose his ice arrow and Hei-ying jumped out of the way. He jumped back into the main foyer of the house where the massive carved magic circle was. Landing lightly in the middle, Hei-ying tipped his head back and stared up. "Clow . . ."

". . . Hei-ying . . ."

Mister Hilligans stared in abject horror as Clow's skull spoke the name of his most dangerous creation. The nameless woman jerked, her first real reaction to anything as the skull whispered the name. Maduokai's hand shook as it held the skull, its loose jaw working as it whispered the name again. The magician swallowed hard and reached out for the velvet bag. 

"We're getting close . . ." Maduokai allowed the whispering skull to fall into the bag and then put the bag into a trunk under the seat. He wiped his hands as if trying to wipe away the creepiness of experience. Watching the skull talk without having any magic spell placed upon it was disturbing and allowed Maduokai to witness firsthand, how terribly powerful Clow Reed's influence still was. The magician looked at the others, "Hei-ying was the name of the creation that was buried next to Clow . . . the creation that I brought back and escaped . . ."

The magician glared hard at Hilligans. The old man stared back before snorting darkly, "Hei-ying is the devil incarnate . . ." the old man shook his head, "And Clow Reed is his master . . . thy 'ave messed wit' things far too powerful f' thee . . ."

Maduokai glared at him speculatively. "Perhaps I have . . . but I am confident that I have the skills to control them. . ."

"No man can contain the powers o' darkness . . . an' Hei-ying is more dangerous than even Clow Reed could imagine . . . what makes thee think that he won't recognise thee . . . won't recognise me?"

Maduokai smiled at this, and reached under his seat, pulling out the trunk he'd deposited Clow's skull into. "That is where this comes in . . ." He opened the trunk, Clow's skull still whispering quietly within the black velvet bag. He lifted this and reached for the masks underneath. Both were ancient, the masks of the very gods of China. Hilligans frowned as Maduokai waved his hand over the masks and whispered a spell. "What art thy doin'?"

The magician held up the mask and allowed it to float toward Hilligans. "No one will recognise you . . ."

Hilligans' eyes opened with horror as the mask distended at the edges horribly and reached toward his face. The white porcelain fixing itself to his face painfully. He reached up, trying to pry the enchanted mask off his face before it sealed itself to him completely. Maduokai sat back and passed the other mask to the nameless woman, "Asil . . . place this over your face."

She looked hesitant for a moment, reluctant to let the thing touch her face before she acquiesced. Maduokai smiled indulgently, "My lady, I wouldn't spoil your lovely features for the world . . ." he stared at Hilligans as the man passed out and slumped on the seat, the mask bled at the side, red blood oozing out of the eye sockets and down from the neck. "No, no one will ever recognise you . . . ever again . . ."

Yue ran after his brother, as Syaoran ran to Eriol's side. "Go!" 

Eriol looked down at his moon guardian, Ruby was passing out, her eyes were falling closed, "I can't leave her . . . but Tomoyo . . ."

"Eriol!" Syaoran pulled his sword up and started to stab at the ice, chipping away large chunks of the frozen water, "I'll do this . . . go to Tomoyo!"

Eriol smoothed his hand over the surface of the ice, groaning quietly as Ruby's eyes finally closed, and the guardian's last breath left her lips in a small cluster of bubbles. The moon guardian was beginning to sink under the ice, her pink lips turning rapidly pale purple. Syaoran shook his shoulder; "Take out Hei-ying now, before he destroys anything else . . ."

Eriol nodded and stood, chasing out the door after the crazed guardian, trying to ignore the fallen bodies of the others. "Touya!!" He called out, the other man was already running after Hei-ying, "We've got to get through to him!"

Sakura grasped her staff hard and ran to her moon guardian's side, Yue took aim again, "Hei-ying! I'll kill you if you do not submit!"

The dark angel looked down at them and tilted his head; he took half a step back, before jumping again. He jumped from side to side on the beautiful twirling stairway, using the Jump card rather than his wings to easily dodge Yue's fast arrows.  

"Fly!" Sakura called out, and took off instant after Hei-ying, the dark angel still had her friend and Sakura was determined not to let him go. The angel finally stopped on the fourth floor. He landed on a sculpture there and looked down with blank but malevolent eyes. Sakura continued to fly toward him, clutching her staff hard. Behind her, Yue flew up to aim at the dark angel and protect his mistress. Internally, Yue was torn, he didn't understand this reaction from Hei-ying, what did he mean that Clow was calling him?!

"Hei-ying-san! Stop this please!!" Sakura screamed over to him, "Please, we're not your enemy!! Please, try to remember!!"

"Remember . . .?"

Blinking, Hei-ying glanced down at Tomoyo as she lay in his arms. Her pale features, her curling dark hair reminded him so much of Mystrasa. She was the one calling him . . . wasn't she?

Tomoyo's pale lips parted.

He'd only stunned her, knocked her out. He didn't want to kill the gentle girl . . . girl? Wasn't she Mystrasa? Kyree could hardly be described as gentle . . . he frowned as conflicting notions entered and battled inside his mind. Wasn't this Reed mansion? //Tsukimine// corrected a quiet voice inside. Hei-ying frowned deeper; the voice was that of this girl in his arms . . . but not the voice of Kyree . . . 

//welcome to the Tsukimine Mansion . . . my name is Tomoyo Hiirawagizawa . . . wife of Clow's second reincarnation . . .//

The voice that had spoken to him in the darkness, when he was . . . the memory was fleeting, shattered, and incomplete. Sakura paused as she watched the confusion on Hei-ying's face. He seemed to be listening to various voices, and looking alternately above himself, to the side, into Tomoyo's face. His wings fluttered slightly, as if he was unable to decide what to think. 

"I . . ." Hei-ying's features filled with alarm, "I don't  . . . understand . . ."

Yue floated closer to his brother, "Give me Tomoyo . . . please, and we can try and help you understand . . ." he held out his arms, "Please brother, we can help you . . ."

"My Lady, try to sleep . . ."

The nameless woman looked up from her lap, and looked at her lord. Maduokai stared at her with a small amount of concern. Leaning over, the man placed his hand over hers and asked gently, "Would you like me to place you under a spell? A small spell to help you sleep?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing . . ."

He smiled at her, and squeezed her hand lightly. "I shall place Clow under a spell then . . ." he pulled the bag up again and motioned T'listia forward. She held the bag containing Clow's whispering skull firmly as Maduokai placed his hands over it. The woman watched with little interest as his hands glowed slightly, and the bag began to shudder more violently. Maduokai gritted his teeth, "I can control this . . ."

"Hei-ying . . ." Clow's voice echoed slightly, "Keroberos . . . Yue . . ."

Hei-ying's arms were limp as Yue slowly took Tomoyo from him.

Sakura drew a tearful breath as she watched the moon angel take her friend, Tomoyo looked so peaceful. It was hard to imagine what life without her best friend could ever be like.

Yue's brow drew into a troubled frown; he could still feel Tomoyo's magic from her. He gazed up at his brother, the dark angel staring down at the girl's features. Hei-ying hadn't killed her, merely stunned her hard somehow. As they passed the girl, Yue felt his brother's fingers touch his.

A snap of magic passed from Hei-ying to Yue. Their creator's voice was suddenly audible to both, whispering, echoing within their minds. 

Hei-ying's head snapped up, his jade eyes wide, "No!!"

Yue's hair flowed away from his face as he jerked with surprise, his beautiful amethyst eyes widening.

_"Hei-ying . . . Keroberos . . . Yue . . ."_

Maduokai closed his eyes and poured more of his magic into the spell to suppress Clow's skull, the voice of the long dead magician getting weaker but still calling out for his missing guardians. 

_"Hei-ying . . ."_

Sakura's emerald eyes widened as Hei-ying's wings disappeared with an explosion of jade green magic. The guardian cried out with fright, as the cards he was using suddenly disbanded from him. Yue's mouth fell open as Hei-ying swayed dangerously toward him, "Hei-ying!!"

_". . . Keroberos . . ." _

Syaoran finally broke through the ice, and dived his hand down into the freezing cold waters to grab a fistful of Ruby Moon's hair. He pulled the moon guardian up and out of the icy grave, yanking away the thorny branches that were binding around her neck. He was so concentrated on getting Ruby to cough up all the brackish, icy water up that he barely noticed Keroberos suddenly cry out painfully as his large soft wings suddenly disappeared with a haze of golden magic.

_". . . Yue . . ."_

"No . . ."

Eriol's mouth fell open, as he and Touya stared up at the drama far above them, Hei-ying was toppling forward, and something was wrong with Yue. "No . . ." Touya murmured again, as he watched Yue's wings suddenly jerk unnaturally, "No . . ."

Sakura dived urgently as Tomoyo slipped from Yue's grasp. She managed to catch Tomoyo, and reached out to Yue as the angel wrapped his arms around Hei-ying's unconscious body. She watched in disbelief as Yue's eyes fluttered shut.

"No . . . No . . . NO!!" Touya yelled out as Yue's wings finally disappeared in a shower of icy blue magic, and the angel fell back limply. Clutching his older brother, the moon angel plummeted toward the ground. Their long hair twining together to create a stunning black and white display as they fell together and their hair pulled free of their bindings. Sakura clutched Tomoyo's limp body to her chest, and flew down to the fourth floor's landing.

_"Guardians . . ."_

Sweating profusely now, Maduokai smiled, his magic spell was winning out and Clow's troubled skull was beginning to fall silent. 

_"Guardians . . . attend . . ." _

The skull shook once more violently before becoming still. Maduokai sat back in his seat, and wiped his brow as his water dragon slowly put the sleeping skull away. The nameless woman beside him glanced at him, as he smiled at her weakly, "I think it's time for both of us to sleep now that I've silenced Clow . . ."

The woman nodded slowly, and looked at the black velvet bag before it was shut up in trunk under the seat again.

"NO!!" 

His master . . .?

"DAMNIT! WAKE UP!!" 

. . . not Clow but . . .

"YUE!!! HEI-YING!!! GOD DAMNIT!! WAKE UP!!"

. . . Touya . . . Kinomoto Touya . . . his *new* master . . . 

"PLEASE! DAMNIT, PLEASE!! WAKE UP!!"

His loose fringe whipped around his face, the wind stole his breath away. Hei-ying's jade eyes snapped open, and he jerked violently. He was . . . falling . . .?

A high-pitched scream above him . . .

"YUE!!! ONEGAI!! HEI-YING!! PLEASE!! PLEASE WAKE UP!!"

. . . Sakura the mistress of the cards . . . 

Below him, the dark wood floor of the Tsukimine floor rushed up at him unrelenting. Realisation hit him as hard as the floor would in a few snatches of time . . . THEY WERE _FALLING!!_

His new master, Touya was stood below him watching them with fear filled sapphire eyes. Hei-ying gasped as he realised that Yue was asleep . . . or worse in his arms. The dark angel gasped horrified as he tried to shake off the stupor of whatever had put him in this position. He closed his eyes and held his brother tightly as he flipped their positions over so he was the one below Yue. His huge white-feathered wings exploded from his back, the velocity that they fell at ripping loose feathers from their place. It gave him precious few seconds as he manoeuvred Yue in to a better position on his chest. Freeing one hand, Hei-ying reached up and channelled all his magic. A jade green powerful glow surged around his hand, as he spoke, drawing on unused powers from the time of Clow Reed. The third floor landing flashed past his sight.

"CARDS OF THE MISTRESS SAKURA . . . ATTEND YOUR GUARDIANS NOW!!"

Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's head and clutched it to her chest, as she bent over her best friend to duck as the cards left her side in a sparkling rush of magic, they tore away from her reacting to Hei-ying's powerful spell. The two angels were still falling, and the cards chased after them in a rainbow of magic and light. Eriol winced as Touya suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the way. Hei-ying stared up in desperation, the cards weren't fast enough!! 

His mind kicked into gear, he knew that even the Dash card could speed up the windy enough to break their fall. The watery could limit the impact, but the card wouldn't be able to compensate for the speed they were travelling at now . . . he had to slow them down somehow!

The second floor's landing . . . they'd fallen past it . . .

"KEROBEROS!" Hei-ying squeezed his eyes shut, "BREAK THIS SPELL THAT BINDS THEE!!"

In the study, Ruby opened blood shot eyes as Keroberos' magic circle suddenly set alight and the lion's massive white wings flapped powerfully. The claws of the sun guardian ripped into the carpet and the hard wood floor as he pushed up and sprung forward. Keroberos' teeth were bared as the lion ran forward, bowling over Touya and Eriol as he ran through to the foyer. Gold tinted feathers ripped from his wings as he leapt into the air and swooped desperately under his two brothers.

Hei-ying closed his eyes, and called up as he felt Keroberos' magic below them. "WATERY!! CREATE FOR US A POOL TO LAND IN!!"

Sakura glanced back at Tomoyo, before climbing over the banister. 

"FLY!!" 

She screamed as she fell to the ground after her guardians. The fly card exploded from its trapped form at the same time as the watery spread her arms and went crashing down immensely toward the floor and gathering in a massive floating lake.

"Ompft!" Keroberos grunted hard as the two guardians crushed into his back. His wings crunched as he felt his brothers' combined weight crash into him. He felt the wind knocked out of him, and lost his footing in the air. The lion winced as he began to fall with his brothers. 

"NOOOO!!" Sakura screamed from far above them, she continued to race head down toward the three, reaching as much as she could, but she wasn't faster enough. "Kero-chan!! Yue-kun!! Hei-ying-kun!! MATTE!!" 

Yue opened his eyes, feeling the wind coursing around him, as he felt the combined magicks of Keroberos and Hei-ying. He felt Hei-ying's arm wrapped tightly around his neck, his nails pinching hard into Yue's shoulder as they plummeted. Above him, he could see through Hei-ying's loose black hair, and his own thick rope of hair. He saw Sakura screaming silently as she flew down after them desperately. 

They sped past the first floor's landing. 

"The Fly . . ." His eyes widened, "She'll be killed . . ."

Hei-ying's other hand flew into his view as the dark angel cried out, "Fly . . . Abandon!!"

"IIE!!" Sakura cried out as fresh pain ripped over her back as her wings suddenly reversed their flight, and tried to drag her upward. Tears flew from her face as she watched her guardians' approach to the ball of water the Watery had prepared below them. Her brother and Eriol lay on the floor, bracing themselves as the Watery snarled, spreading her arms to brace herself against the falling guardians. 

. . . And then . . . three brothers hit the water . . .

_//There once was a boy, a little, little boy . . . how dark his frowns were!// _

She smiled as she looked over the table, wondering how the songs of her other cousins were affecting him. He was so serious and nothing would faze him. His lips turned down, the slight frown forming again.

_//And when this little, little boy frowned . . . grand storm clouds could not compete!//_

Feathers filled the air, followed by loud sobs. The rain started to pour hard, bouncing off the pavement.

_//For this little, little boy . . . For our family, he'll be . . .//_

Feathers. _Birdy, birdy, where could . . ._

_//Rain, Rain, go away . . . come again another . . .//_

"My lady?"

_//Rain, Rain, go away . . .//_

"My Lady, it's time for you to . . ."

_//Come again another . . .//_

". . . wake up."

Maduokai's dark grey eyes came into sharp focus, she blinked slowly. The woman gazed over at the other side of the coach's cab, Mister Hilligans was still asleep, the blood from earlier wiped away neatly, and his clothes replaced with traditional, mythological robes. He looked like something out of an old Chinese storybook. T'listia was sleeping lightly, her strange blue hair – a wild mix of every blue ever known – spilling from its loose bun. 

Maduokai's hand cupped her cheek, and slowly pulled her face toward him, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes . . ." she murmured quietly, ". . . thank you, my lord."

He sighed and sat back, "Good, good . . . we will be there in two days . . ." Opening his arms, he motioned her forward, "And very soon, your true form and I will be reunited . . ."

The woman moved forward, and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She pressed her cheek against his chest, and listened to his heart as he began to slumber again.

"Rain . . . rain . . . go away . . ." she sang softly, sweetly, unaware of herself . . . unaware the skull below her began to chant quietly.

_"Hei-ying. . . Keroberos . . . Yue . . . Saurian . . . Ruby Moon . . . Spinel Sun . . . Thy master returns . . . Hei-ying . . . Keroberos . . . Yue . . . Saurian . . . Ruby Moon . . . Spinel Sun . . . thy Master Returns . . . Hei-ying, Keroberos, Yue, Saurian, Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun, thy master returns-Hei-ying-Keroberos-Yue-Saurian-Ruby-Moon-Spinel-Sun-Thy-Master-ReturnsHei-yingKeroberosYueSaurainRubyMoonSpinelSunThyMaster—"_

------

And now it's time to LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Konnichiwa!! Sorry for no update last week but . . . yeah, I have my reasons for that . . . moving on, moving on! Did you like this chapter?! [Grins] I know. . . I have an obsession with falling. What can I say, it's one of the scariest things I can think of. Even a slight trip, a stumble one step down stairs can bring me to tears. What?! It's called a phobia!

Clow: [strokes chin] Phobia, eh?

DrM: I'll give you a phobia if you are mean to me today!

Clow: [strokes chin] Empty threat eh?

DrM: [growls]

Clow: smirks] Readers reviewing eh?


	11. Renaissance

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Ten: Renaissance 

{And this chapter I dedicate to Clow'd9, Bluegoo and more importantly, Corn Porn. No, Corn Porn isn't a person, but if it were I would sure love to walk up to it and . . . [coughs] ahem, No, Corn Porn is the best piece of Yaoi I've ever seen, Corn Porn is the nickname I hold for it, for it has . . . [glances at Bluegoo and coughs a little more violent] Ahem, anyway, it inspired me, and like Bluegoo and Clow'd9, like all the readers and the reviewers who are reading this and thinking what the hell Corn Porn is, like the Bish levels of Yue and Clow and Touya and Yuki, it continues to inspire me. [Raises arms] LONG LIVE CORN PORN!!}

Chapter Ten: Renaissance    

"He's magically stronger than his younger brothers."

"I noticed."

"He can override the Card Mistress' control over the cards."

"This I also noticed."

He's capable of master level control over his brothers and cousins.

Eriol pulled the cool compressed from his eyes and stared at Syaoran. The Little Wolf glowered at him. "What do you expect me to say?"

"I don't know!" Syaoran growled, "I'm so used to you knowing the 'why's and 'how's of Clow Reed's spells, I was *hoping* you could explain how Hei-ying, a defective reject of a guardian, could completely and utterly defeat not only Sakura-chan's, but also *your* guardians." The Little Wolf's eyebrows rose as he paced away shaking his head, "And that's not even mentioning how he manipulated the cards!"

Allowing the cold compress to flop back onto his eyes, Eriol let his head roll back and groped out blindly for his wife's waist. They were laying on their shared bed, in their room, Sakura hovering over Tomoyo worriedly but with no little amount of relief. Eriol's wife had awoken from her stunned state no worse for wear aside from a severely bruised neck. Hei-ying was as extremely skilled in how not to kill a person as he was in killing a person it seemed. Touya was tending to the five guardians on the fourth floor. The five were exhausted from their impromptu battle, Spinel being in the best condition as he was still sleeping, Ruby being the worst needing some repair work from Eriol for the water she'd inhaled. Keroberos' wings were broken in their arches, Yue's ankles were fractured and he had whiplash in his neck. Hei-ying had sustained serious damage to his wings and back from when he'd hit Keroberos' back, and he too had whiplash from falling into the water. 

Eriol assured Sakura that, as they had after the incident when the guardians had been trapped in the sealing staff during Mystrasa's attack, he would guide her through the repairing process. In the meantime, while they all recovered from the shock of the accident, Eriol lay beside his wife, nursing a severe headache. 

Syaoran sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around Sakura. She held Tomoyo's hand as the other woman sat in bed, her husband's cheek resting on her hip. Tomoyo reached up and covered Sakura's hand, smiling slightly. "Sakura-chan . . ." Tomoyo whispered, "I'm all right . . . please stop worrying . . ."

Sakura's frown lifted slightly, "Honto?"

"Honto desu."

Sakura's small finger came up, "Honto ne?"

Tomoyo smiled and wrapped her own small finger around Sakura's, "Honto desu ka."

The frown lifted entirely and Sakura smiled brightly. "Sou ka!" She leant back, still holding Tomoyo's hand, but leaning back into Syaoran's embrace. Her concentration shifted and the emerald-eyed woman turned serious, "how come Hei-ying is more powerful than his brothers?"

"Master Clow Reed only ever intended to make one guardian."

Eriol sat up in bed as everyone's attention was drawn to the door by the icy cool voice. Hei-ying and Touya – who glared at Hei-ying irritably – stood there. Hei-ying shuffled forward, "He only ever intended to make one guardian, therefore I was given powers limited only by the Obedience Spell . . ." Eriol sat up and pulled his knees up, leaning his elbows on them. He stared at Hei-ying intently, before looking at Touya.

Touya sighed as he met Eriol's thoughtful gaze, "I think it's been proven that I can't control him . . . I see no reason to try and restrain him . . ." The hardened blue eyes turned on Hei-ying as the dark haired magician growled at him, "Even if it would be in the best intentions for his health!"

Hei-ying had the decency to look a little ashamed, "I'm sorry, master, but I feel I must explain—"

Touya held up his hand and motioned a nearby seat. "Talk about it from there."

Hei-ying nodded stiffly and shuffled over to the stuffed chair. He lowered himself slowly, trying not to jolt his neck or back. He sighed, obviously thinking about how he would explain himself. 

Sighing, Touya looked at the others. He stared at Tomoyo critically, "You should be lying down."

She smiled, "But it would—"

"I think Sakura understands that you are well enough, now please lie down." Touya cut her off, snapping into his doctor mode. He moved around the bed and helped Tomoyo to lie down gently. Eriol lowered his legs and then helped his wife to lay her head in his lap. He smiled slightly as he softly pulled at the ties in her hair, threading his fingers into her silken strands. He glanced at Touya as he dipped the compress into cold water and wrung it out. Touya handed Eriol the compress and raised an eyebrow, "How's the headache?"

"It's just stress . . ." Eriol assured him, he smiled slightly, stroking Tomoyo's hair, "I'll be fine soon . . . a relaxing meal, a few hours of sleep with my beautiful wife and I will be happy." 

Touya nodded and then turned his attentions on Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran was already moving them to the sofa under the window and wrapping a blanket around Sakura's shoulders. She looked a little wan. The use of so much magic after such a long time of her powers basically remaining dormant exhausted her. Picking up a spare blanket, Touya walked over to Hei-ying and wrapped it around his shoulders. Hei-ying blinked and looked up at Touya with surprise before he murmured softly, "You are kind to one who would kill you . . ."

"You didn't mean to . . ." Touya knelt down beside Hei-ying's chair, "Or you wouldn't be trying to help us understand why you are more powerful than your brothers . . ."

Hei-ying nodded slowly and winced as his neck twinged. "This is true . . ." He sighed again and raised a hand to clutch the blanket tighter. "As far as I understand it, from what I've seen my brothers do . . . I believe that while I know the spells and such to overcome them . . . I am not actually much more stronger than them . . ." He paused at the look of non-comprehension on Touya's face, "What I mean is . . . the source of my magic is the stars, like your sister . . . the moon, Yue and the sun, Keroberos can technically outshine me, they are stronger in the way that they have . . . Hei-ying shook his head slightly, no . . . that isn't the right way to explain it . . ."

"Take your time . . ." Touya murmured shifting so he was now sitting with his back against the side of Hei-ying's chair, "Explain it as clearly as you can . . ."

Hei-ying closed his eyes for a moment.

"You have many stories where the small man is capable to win against the large man, Mistress Sakura's life is one such story, she was able to overcome the Master Clow Reed despite the fact she was the weaker of the two. While Keroberos and Yue's sources of power are giants compared to mine, I have the spells, the knowledge, the ability to refine my magic in the most effective way . . . it isn't that hard to circumvent the commands to knock a guardian unconscious . . ." He opened his eyes and stared at Sakura, "Also, Mistress Sakura has already given me permission to use her cards, she never removed this, never said I cannot use them . . ." he sighed heavily, "Even though you are young there is no excuse for you not to be so precise with your commands. You have had the cards for long enough to realise you have to ask very specifically what you want from them." 

Sakura sucked in her bottom lip and stared at him for a long moment before admitting, "I didn't realise that it applied to guardians too."

Hei-ying's gaze softened slightly, "Normally it doesn't but when you have a rogue guardian whose integrity you can't really trust, you should remember that." 

"Hai." Sakura looked down for a moment before asking quietly, "Should I . . .?"

"I think so." Hei-ying closed his eyes again, "I don't know what triggered whatever happened to me, therefore I should not be allowed to have access to the cards . . ."

"What do I need to say . . .?"

"Whatever you deem sufficient, Card Mistress."

Sakura blinked at this, and closed her eyes for a moment, "Hei-ying. You are refused access to the attack cards, element cards or Create card without my permission . . ." she paused and bit her lip, "Unless . . . unless . . . if I am not able to, your master, Touya or Eriol gives you permission. Understand?"

"Understood, Card Mistress." Hei-ying's jade eyes slide open again, "I have no memory beyond the conversation . . . I do remember thinking Keroberos was contradicting me before Clow which is why I wanted to knock him out . . . but that doesn't make any sense because . . ."

". . . because Clow wasn't there, not even as myself or as Touya . . ." Eriol raised his hand to trace Tomoyo's eyebrow, "Did you see him, or Kyree?"

Hei-ying's jade eyes narrowed tiredly, his shoulders drooped with defeat, "I don't remember . . ."

Touya raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Hei-ying's face in the mirror. 

The angel was wincing again.

"You know, you should tell me if this hurts . . . I can't get better at this if you don't teach me where I am going wrong . . ."

Hei-ying slid an eye open, "Not so hard over the wing joint . . ." He closed his eye again and schooled his features into a passive mask. Touya was trying to repair the damage Hei-ying had sustained to his shoulders during the fall two days ago. They had received word from Maduokai Kuei that he and his family were only two further days from them, a delay of one more day because they wished to find suitable accommodation for themselves without having to inconvenience the small family of magicians. Touya looked into Hei-ying's face again. Truth be told this was the first time he'd actually been alone completely with his new guardian. 

Hei-ying was quiet, speaking only when spoken to, the angel was obviously deep in thought and it was disturbing to finally look at this dark version of Yue. It made Touya realise that Yue's face wasn't as cold as his first impression gave, to look at Yue when he was thinking you saw perhaps a small flash of a smile, his brow was drawn in a look of concentration, perhaps even amused boredom but never had Touya ever seen Yue look this . . . cold.

Hei-ying may have carefully crafted this expression to appear blank, but hidden within it were frowns, a distinct look of hatred. 

"Stop it."

Touya stared for a moment longer, and pulled his hands up. "What?"

"You're comparing me to him. To Yue." Hei-ying opened his eyes a crack and stared down, "Yue is nothing like me, Yue has never seen the things I have therefore he is nothing like me." He blinked and looked up at Touya in the mirror, his jade eyes not particularly angry, but displeased. "We are nothing like each other. Removed this from your mind."

"I noticed." Touya said quietly as he reapplied his fingers to the troublesome shoulder bone, "I was thinking how Yue looks almost happy compared to you."

"Good."

Touya sighed, as he leant over to switch his hands over to the other shoulder, "What things have you seen?"

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me."

"Do you really want to know?" Hei-ying smiled slightly; it was just barely sickly sweet. Behind it, a hint of Hei-ying deep insanity peeked through. "I'm not sure I even want to . . ." He closed his eyes again, "Have you ever felt hate and love at the same time? Have you ever done something, which you wanted so much, only to realise it was something you dreaded?"

"To be honest . . ." Touya stroked his hand over Hei-ying's shoulder, pushing the pale angel's robe off. "No, I haven't . . ."

"Pity. It's a strange sensation everyone should try . . . I feel like I'm living twice . . ." Touya glanced at the mirror as Hei-ying gave a small laugh, "I remember feelings of happiness . . . at times when I was scared out of my mind . . . I look back with disgust at times when I was almost exploding with desire." 

Hei-ying's voice lowered and Touya found himself leaning closer so he could reach further down Hei-ying's arms. The other shoulder of the robe sliding off and revealing the slimly built chest of Hei-ying, so similar to Yue's but . . .

The scent of spring, cool and crisp. The freshness of melted snow, the tang of flowers opening, spreading their petals upward, worshiping the sun that banished winter.

Touya closed his eyes, not noticing Hei-ying lift a pale hand and catching a Sakura card. 

"Times where I don't understand why I did what I did without so much as a whimper . . ."

A smile pulled at Touya's face as the angel purred quietly and brushed his cheek against Touya's neck. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled as he twirled his hands into white silken hair, reaching downward to tug open the cumbersome bathrobe. He glanced to the side, seeing a smirk pull at Yue's lips. The angel opened his eyes and stared at Touya knowingly. 

Touya frowned slightly, //when had Yue's eyes turned such a dark shade of . . .//

Yue shifted slightly, spreading his legs as Touya moved his hand to cup and fondle his body. The angel's sharp chin tipped back as he purred throatily. Touya continued to frown, trying to move his hands in a different way, trying to make Yue's cold smirk go away. 

"Oh . . ." The angel's back arched as Touya began to pump his hand steadily. White hair fluttered back as the angel squirmed. Touya continued to stare at Yue wonderingly as the angel tipped his head forward to stare at him, //when had Yue's eyes become such a dark shade of . . .//

The angel raised one hand and trailed his fingers up Touya's arm as it supported the angel's back. The other hand came up slowly, to hold a glowing card to Touya's face.

//When had Yue's eyes become such a deep shade of . . .//

The glow began to fade, allowing Touya to read the name on it.

//. . . jade?//

"Illusion?" 

The card exploded in a burst of white gold magic and faded away, taking with it the mass of silken white hair. Shiny black hair tumbled in its place, and Touya stared up into Hei-ying's bitter eyes. All pretence of passion came away from the angel's features, as Touya pushed away and lost his balance. 

Hei-ying smirked coldly at him, as he stood and walked away from Touya. He walked to his bedroom door and pushed it closed again, quietly thanking the illusion card for its help. He turned back to Touya who still stared at him growing shock on his normally stoic features. 

Hei-ying smirked as he allowed his robe to fall completely from his body, and climbed onto his bed stomach down. He propped his torso up with his shoulders as he stared back at Touya. "Sorry . . . but I thought I'd prove a point."

"You . . . you can't use the cards anymore . . ."

"No attack cards . . ." Hei-ying held up a finger and counted off, "No element cards . . . and the Create Card is out of bounds . . . Sakura-sama is very clever, defining which cards I can use in everyday usage and which cards I can not . . ." He smiled slightly, genuinely pleased, "She learns quickly, it would have been a pleasure to serve under her . . . his eyes took on a distant look, unfortunately for me that will never be possible . . ." 

Touya stood and smoothed out his clothes, taking the time to think about the point Hei-ying wanted to prove. "I love Yue . . . I would never—"

"Do anything to hurt him?" Hei-ying closed his eyes, "I know . . . Clow used to say the same thing . . ."

"I'm not Clow Reed."

The cynical smirk pulled at Hei-ying's lips, "All humans aren't Clow Reed, but if such a powerful man like he can have weaknesses . . ." the smirk sunk as Hei-ying expression grew cold, his voice barely over a hissing whisper, "So can you . . ."

"Are you suggesting . . ." Touya clenched his fists, "I would never abuse Yue!"

"You'd never have the chance to!" Hei-ying's eyes snapped open, "Master of mine you may be, but Yue calls higher in my priorities." Touya blinked as the two stared at each other intensely. Hei-ying closed his eyes again, assuming his blank look again. The taller magician stared at his guardian for a long moment.

"I am not Clow Reed, Hei-ying . . . history will not repeat itself . . ." Hei-ying's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of his emotions, "That's what you're afraid of . . ." Touya forced his hands to unclench and took a step closer, "I am not Clow Reed . . . Yue is not you . . ." He stepped closer until he could kneel in front of the bed, "It ended almost five centuries ago . . ."

"But it didn't!" Hei-ying's eyes snapped open again and he stared at Touya, "When Mystrasa Kyree found me . . . when she returned to Clow's old ways . . . then it was another sixty years . . . plus the time spent with Clow Reed . . ." Touya's eyes widened as the figures crashed into his mind, Hei-ying looked a little frantic as he barked harshly at him, "Touya, that's your life time, three times over . . ." Hei-ying's pale shoulders, poking out and looking terribly thin from under his mass of sleek black hair, shuddered hard as the angel stared at him with glassy jade green eyes, "I've never known sanity, what am I suppose to do!? Here I am, I can't even tell if I am sane or not, my brothers treat me like I'm some china doll, about to break at any moment, you and Clow's reincarnation, Clow's descendant treat me like some someone else's retarded dog!" Hei-ying's thin features crumpled as the angel raged, "I can't tell if I'm sane or not, and I won't stand by and let you do this to my beautiful brother!"

"I am not Clow Reed!" Touya reached out and grabbed Hei-ying's shoulders, shaking him hard, "Understand, I am not Clow Reed, Clow Reed is dead, mind, body and soul . . . and the man is never going to come back and hurt you, not through me, not through Eriol, and not through Syaoran!"

"But Yue---!!"

Touya shook him so hard his jaw jarred, "Yue is not you! I am not Clow! I love Yue, I would never hurt him, I love him!"

"I love him too!" Hei-ying raged back, "I hate him but I love him! Those few days we were together again, when the Ying Yang took us . . ." he sucked in a harsh breath, "When we were together both mind, soul and body. . . those are the only moments I felt—"

Touya stared at him, ". . . You raped him . . ."

"We . . ." Hei-ying's rage imploded, "The Ying Yang, surely you realised . . ." 

Touya's hands let go of his new guardian's arms, and he stepped back, "I thought it made you want to kill each other . . ."

"The madness that affects us is not destructive within itself . . . in fact. . ." Hei-ying sighed, glancing away from Touya's intensive gaze, he swallowed, "The madness is actually very beautiful, to become one, to be as close as we can to one another, is the most passionate feeling . . . Some braces will do anything to achieve this intimacy, death is only a side affect from it . . . many braces try to merge, some will eat each other like a serpent trying to eat its own tale . . ." 

Touya turned and sank down on to the end of the bed, "And some become lovers . . ." he sighed heavily, "I thought it was rare . . ."

Hei-ying blinked, before shaking his head, "It is rare . . . if the creations have no sexual organs," he sniffed with a little harsh humour, "Unfortunately for all of us, I, Keroberos, Yue, Saurian, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon were all created to be sexual creatures, we have genders, we have urges . . ." he smirked darkly, "We are all so very weak . . . I was the one that Clow fucked, and Yue was the one he loved . . ." he began to snicker, "If you think about it, Yue was the one I loved, and I was the one Yue fucked. . ." 

Touya felt his hands clench the side of the bed tightly, he drew a quick breath he couldn't let Hei-ying overcome him like this.

"And now, Yukito is the one you love, and Yue is the one you fuck . . ." Hei-ying crawled over the bed and hissed into his new master's ear, "Is he wonderful? Does he suck your earlobe as he did mine? When you touch his body does it arch as it did for me? Oh, how I miss his little panting just as he comes. . ."

His hand almost moved of its own violation, but somehow . . . Touya breathed out, his hand hovering just by Hei-ying's cheek. The jade eyes of the dark angel were wide open; as he began to breath excitedly, "See? I knew it!" His eyes became glassy, "It won't be long! It won't! You can't wait to strike me. . . How long until you hurt my brother?! He's not me, but I see myself in him!" Hei-ying shook his head like a high-strung horse, "I won't let you—"

Forcing himself to take a breath, Touya let his hand drop from Hei-ying and moved up on to the bed until he could wrap his arms around his guardian. He held Hei-ying's naked body until the guardian had calmed down, placated by his master's magic and proximity. The harsh intakes of breathe the only sound in the air. Touya began to speak only after he felt the last of the tremors stop, "You ask if you are sane or not . . . I can't tell you if you are, but I think that you question it because deep inside you can't believe that for the first time in your life, you are . . . you defend a brother you hate . . ."

Hei-ying nodded. Touya sighed quietly.

"Then perhaps you are mistaking your hatred for something else . . . you've never known anything else, so you must think that all feelings feel like this . . . you've known fear, not love, mistaken obsession for passion . . . and now it must be confusing . . ."

Hei-ying sat up and turned away from Touya, allowing his nudity to be covered by long, sleek black hair. Touya barely noticed it as he focused on Hei-ying, allowing his more gentle side come out and assure the guardian. "My purpose . . ." Hei-ying murmured, "My purpose in life was to be the advisor of the Clow, first I was created to be guard, advisor and judge . . . then it was all slowly stripped away from me . . . now I find that I'm brought back, all these memories . . . I killed your father after he was so kind to me, he . . ." Hei-ying's jade eyes slid shut, "Your father was everything of the Clow Reed I . . . I think I fell for in the first place, kind . . . handsome and . . . he gave me purpose, even though it was just a trick, for the few weeks that I knew him, he gave me purpose again . . ." Hei-ying winced and turned away from Touya, "And now . . . I've returned to you, and there is no place for me. . . I am useless . . ."

"I have a lot of magic that I don't use . . . I am very powerful but I don't know what to do . . ." Touya pulled off his shirt and wrapped it loosely around Hei-ying's shoulders, "I notice that you are accomplished in not only the magic of the cards but in magic in general." Touya nodded, "Therefore as your master, you must help teach me, show me how to be a better master . . . a better friend to you." The blue-eyed boy smiled as Hei-ying turned and stared at him with a little amazement, "I know how you must feel about Yue and me . . . I don't want to let Sakura go . . ."

A smirk pulled at Hei-ying's lips, the melancholy of the moment before beginning to fade from the angel, "Ah, but have you ever tried to kill your sister . . .?"

"Well, no . . . but I've teased her a lot . . ." Touya smiled, before reaching up to pull a lock of hair back from Hei-ying's face, and stared at the angel intently, "Trust me with Yue . . . and I'll prove to you that Clow Reed will never come back to hurt you." Hei-ying's shoulders dropped, and the guardian leant forward until he could lean his head on Touya's lap like a giant cat. Touya raised his hand, and swallowed. No, he'd never had a being dedicate his life to him, but now that he had this responsibility . . . the dark haired magician glanced up and nodded to the doorway . . . now that Hei-ying was relying on him, Touya wasn't about to back away now. He placed his hand gently on Hei-ying's head, and petted his new guardian softly, until he heard the being's soft purring snores. He looked down and pulled the blanket around Hei-ying's painfully thin body. 

Yue pulled the door close as quietly as he'd opened it. He was worried when he'd seen the Illusion card fly from the pack, and had followed. But it seemed . . . 

He smiled to himself as he walked away from his brother's bedroom and retired to his own, casting only one more worried look over his shoulder, his eyes momentarily shifting from their usual violet to a soft brown. 

. . . it seemed he'd hadn't much to worry about . . .

The study on the third floor.

Once upon a time . . . in England no less, Clow Reed, Master magician created the new magic that was to save his time's magic world from decline. It was here; in this very study he did it. Here was the birthplace of three brothers, three guards of the Clow. Here Hei-ying learnt the beauty of Clow's first kiss, seeing the flush of the young magician's cheeks, his dark blue eyes dilate with the simple touch of lust. Here Keroberos learnt how powerful Clow's visions could be, seeing the magic sweep even the most powerful magician into unconsciousness, making him crumple to the ground without word of warning. Here Yue learnt how strong his love for Clow had taken his heart, the magician would never be aware of this love. This is where Yue learnt how to hide his emotions. 

The study on the third floor. 

This is where Yue . . . the child, not Yukito or the Judgement Maker, the child whom many feared dead . . . this was where Yue came. Like a ghost of the past this study was his haunting ground. Neither Yue the Judgement Maker nor Yukito Human form of the Guardian knew why they came here, nor why this study, which seemed to be so fine a place to read had been abandoned. The child whom Clow Reed mourned the loss of for the rest of his days, whom Keroberos loved and adored, whom Hei-ying grew to hate and blamed for Clow's sudden change in demeanour, this child knew. 

Like a ghost of the past, this child lured Yukito here, drew Yue to it. With fleeting, unobtainable memories and promises of their past, the child came back to the study to live. And for a few moments, this child lived once more. Yue and Yukito were one, no difference between them, one did not deny the other's existence, the other wasn't jealous of the other's life. Sitting there, on the window seat where Clow had dreamt, where Clow had decided, where Clow had mourned, where Clow had laughed, the child lived again.

His hand turned the page of a book he wasn't really reading.      

"Yukito . . .?"

Startled, the snow rabbit looked up from his book to find Hei-ying standing beside him. He blinked with surprise before raising a hand to Hei-ying. The dark angel helped him up and Yukito smiled broadly at his eldest brother. He hadn't had much time to spend with him before and Hei-ying had been a little elusive as he tried to learn his new duties from Touya. Touya had left the mansion earlier that day to get a few things from town, and Yuki and Hei-ying were left to their own devices. 

Hei-ying sighed as he glance at the book Yukito was reading, "Trying to remember your youth?"

Yukito blushed, as he opened the notebook again, "I have no memory of it, and Yue has only fragments . . ." he shrugged, "You can't blame me for trying . . ."

"There really isn't that much to remember." Hei-ying pulled the book from him and flicked through the pages, "You were an irritatingly happy child, your favourite question was 'really?' and you tended to be very familiar with Clow at inappropriate times."

"Really?" Yukito stared at Hei-ying as the angel placed the book on the window seat. 

Hei-ying smirked at him, "Yes, really."

"Oh . . ." Yuki blushed, "I wish I could remember."

"Why?" Hei-ying motioned Yukito forward, and they walked out of the study. Yukito didn't know where they were walking but Hei-ying seemed to want to go for a walk. He thought deeply about his answer, before he turned to Hei-ying. "Do you remember your childhood?"

"Yes." The angel's wings expanded, and Hei-ying quickly transformed into his other form, Tomodachi. Yuki glanced at him, as the false form fiddled with his cuffs. 

"What was it like?"

Tomodachi sighed as they descended the stairs, "Must you know?"

"I would like to, it interests me that I don't know much about one of my brothers . . . besides . . . the last time we 'caught up' it didn't go very well . . ." 

Hei-ying blinked at Yukito's soft tone, they were crossing the main hall now, and heading to the door. He sighed, remembering the last time he and Yukito had actually spoken face to face as it were . . .

_"I know who you are! You are Hei-ying, aren't you?!" _

_"Yukito . . ." Hei-ying murmured again, almost mouthing the name._

_"You tried to kill us, Yue and me!" Yukito growled, his normally calm and sweet personality shelved, "I don't know how you are keeping Yue from realising it but you tried to kill us both!"_

_Hei-ying growled, as the angel ranted on, his hand snaked out and grabbed the back of Yue's head. The angel started to shout, and tug away, as Hei-ying dragged him to the old dresser. He threw the younger creation into the seat and clamped his hands on the small shoulders and bent over. "Look."_

_The darkening purple eyes narrowed, "I'll do nothing for you!"_

_Hei-ying's pale hand wrapped around the defiant chin, and forced him to look. "See?! You're just like me! You're as broken as the stone on my chest; your mind is as split as mine . . ."_

_"Na-Nani?!" Yukito's mind revolted, as he stared into the reflective glass. Yue's face stared back, "What is this . . .?" He looked at his hands, bright royal blue gloves, sharp white sleeves, "This isn't . . ." He looked in the glass again, Yue's white hair, black in places. "This can't be . . ."_

_"You're insane . . ." Hei-ying smirked, he was right . . . he had killed something in Yue, and just as Yue had broken Hei-ying's, Hei-ying had broken Yue's mind. "You're just like me!"_

_"I hate you." Yuki stared at Hei-ying through the glass. "I hate you."_

_Hei-ying blinked, the almost sanity he felt around Yue rapidly fading as old feelings came back with Yukito, "Tell me, Yukito, tell me you love me . . ."_

_"I hate you . . ." Yukito turned, and spat into the older angel's face, "I hate you! I hate you!" _

_The jade eye narrowed, "Tell me you love me!"_

_"NO!" Yukito pushed him back, turned to the dresser. The items on it were so old, a dried Sunflower, paper, pencils; all covered in dust, he growled as he shoved it all off, "I hate you!! You did this to me!"_

_Hei-ying sat up, and stared at his leg, the scissors glinted temptingly. His jade eye slipped to Yue's body, as the snow rabbit raged and broke everything on the dresser. "Yue . . ."_

_No! Yukito shouted, but staggered weakly. "No . . ."_

_". . . Return to your true form. . ."_

"No . . . I suppose it didn't." 

Hei-ying stopped by the door, before pushing it open. "Yukito . . . that's what I wanted to talk to you about actually . . ."

Yukito nodded, and looked out. The day was warm, since waking up after Hei-ying's accidental attack, Yukito had felt the bruised condition Yue was left in. He sighed, and shrugged it off, Sakura was still repairing Keroberos. Hei-ying's false form pushed a lock of dark brown hair behind his ear, and stepped out after him. "I wanted to ask you and Yue about that time . . ."

Yuki tipped his head as Yue groaned sleepily inside his mind, "Yue's very tired . . . he doesn't want to be woken . . ." Yukito advised quietly, "but I'll talk to you for him."

Hei-ying paused before speaking again, "Thank you . . ." he glanced up at the sky, gathering his thoughts. "You realise that my memories are returning to the point where Kyree took Yue from Sakura . . . to the point where I remember our . . . reunion."

"Ah." Yukito nodded, he and Yue had discussed this since it had happened. It was a source of insecurity for both snow rabbit and moon angel, regarding Touya's view of them. 

They had slept with Hei-ying.

Their own brother.

They had had an incestuous relationship with the dark angel, under the influence of the Ying-Yang Syndrome. 

Hei-ying nodded as Yukito's features became very serious, he sighed, "Ah indeed . . . youngest brother, you and I have a problem."

The gravel crunched under their feet as the two walked around the grounds. Both very deeply lost in their own thoughts, Yukito and Hei-ying glanced at each other thoughtfully. Hei-ying reached out and took Yukito's hand, and started to pull him toward a glade of trees, hiding them from view of the Mansion.

"Yukito . . ." Hei-ying began, and stopped, "Yukito . . . I . . . don't feel so strongly about the Ying Yang . . . I don't feel the pull as much as I did then. . ."

"That must be because you receive some magic from Sakura, but mostly from Touya now . . ." Yukito nodded as Yue suggested the explanation in his mind. Hei-ying nodded with understanding. "I know that . . . but . . ." Hei-ying let go of Yuki's hand, and raised his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "How do you feel about me?"

Yuki blinked, "To be honest . . .?"

"To be honest."

Yuki glanced down, "I worry about you. I know Yue does too, but my worry comes from the way your emotions seem to pitch so much . . ." he looked up and stared at Hei-ying with sincere amber eyes, "And if I'm really honest, I can sense a little . . . jealousy from deep in my heart, and from Yue's . . ." 

"Because I am Touya's guardian." Hei-ying nodded again and glanced at Yukito piercingly, "Because I could seduce him . . ."

"You can't deny that you are in a position now." Yuki murmured, but he shook his head, "I don't want to think that of you. . . I trust you, oldest brother, I don't think you want to. . ."

"You're right, I wouldn't want to." Hei-ying stepped forward again and grabbed Yuki's hand, placing it lightly against his cheek. 

Yuki blinked in confusion, "Oniichan?"

Hei-ying's false form sighed gently, a small soft smile pulling at his lips as he spoke quietly, "If Touya ever touches me with a lustful thought in his head, I shall cut off his hands and slice his throat open."

Yuki's amber eyes widened, "Hei-ying!"

Tomodachi's dark green eyes opened and stared at Yukito deeply. "I'm deadly serious . . . I will not be anyone's sexual object *ever* again." The dark bottle green eyes narrowed, "Clow Reed, Mystrasa Kyree . . . I want neither man nor woman to ever want me again, the very idea of having sexual relations with any mortal scum disgusts me!" He hissed violently, Yuki's wide eyes staring at him with complete surprise.

"Hei-ying . . ."

"But . . . I know that the Ying Yang syndrome will affect Yue a lot more than it would you . . . I can feel it."

Yuki closed his eyes as Yue woke up fully, the intoxicating effects of the Ying Yang slowing their senses. Hei-ying's wings extended around them both, triggering not only his, but also Yue's transformation.

"Hei-ying . . ." whispered Yue longingly, fragmented memories of their passionate encounter rising strongly in his mind. He stared up at Hei-ying with heavy lidded eyes, "what's . . . this . . ."

Hei-ying nuzzled the hand on his cheek, and muttered, "I know that the Ying Yang affects you . . . more than me . . . but I want no mortal man . . ."

Yue surged forward, confusion reigning in his mind as he pressed his lips hard against Hei-ying's. Their kiss was harsh; bring back memories of their tussled experience together. Yue panted slightly as he pushed his oldest brother back, No . . . No, Hei-ying . . . why is this happening?!"

Hei-ying smiled slyly, "Because I still draw magic from your mistress . . ." he reached up and pulled Yue into a deep embrace. The two angels sank to the ground beside each other, their arms wrapped tightly around each other as Hei-ying spoke softly into Yue's ear, "The feelings you feel for me are incorrect . . . you know that Touya is your lover . . . my master . . ."

"My lover . . ." Yue repeated, closing his eyes and burying his face in the crook of Hei-ying's neck, "Your master . . ."

Hei-ying tightened his arms, "Your lover, my master . . ."

"You are my brother . . ." Yue murmured muffled by his position, "The Ying Yang . . ."

"Will fade as Touya assumes more and more responsibility for me." Hei-ying snickered darkly, "Pity . . . you're the only person in the world who makes me want to be weak . . ."

Yue pulled back slightly and stared up at his older brother, "Love isn't a weakness . . . it's Sakura's greatest strength . . ."

"Love made me submit to Clow Reed . . . Love made me follow Kyree Mystrasa . . ." the jade eyes blinked and glanced over a point over Yue's shoulders. Hei-ying's arms unwrapped Yue, and the angel stood up. He helped Yue to his feet, and turned the angel around. Touya was staring at the two with some surprise in his dark blue eyes, he'd returned from town and found the two embracing in a hidden part of the ground.

Yue's eyes widened as Hei-ying whispered something into his ear. Hei-ying left his brother's side as the moon angel started to blush ever so slightly. He walked up to Touya's side and pulled the shopping bags from his hands. He looked at Yue meaningfully, and then at Touya before silently leaving the glade. Touya frowned slightly as he glanced back at Hei-ying. The dark angel had taken off and was flying back to the house rapidly. He looked at Yue, "What's wrong?"

"We were talking about the past . . ." Yue admitted, he opened his arms and walked forward until he buried his head into Touya's chest. Touya's arms came around him and held him tightly. Yue smiled as he tilted his head up and kissed the underside of Touya's chin. Touya blinked and gasped as Yue started to pull at his clothes urgently, pulling him into the glade. "Yue?"

"To-ya . . ." Yue looked up, his beautiful eyes glowing slightly, "Don't say a word . . . let's just appreciate . . ." he paused and stared at Touya's handsome features, "Let's appreciate some of the sacrifices made . . . just for us . . ."

As Touya nodded, and walked forward into the hidden glade, lay on the soft green grass with his lover, Yue smiled and ran his fingers lovingly over Touya's body, staring into his beautiful blue eyes . . . and Hei-ying's last whispered words echoing in his mind quietly . . .

//And love made me give you up . . . to my master . . .//

"Did you sleep with Hei-ying?"

Yuki blinked his eyes open and stared up at Touya as the taller man sat up and stared down at him. It was nighttime, and the rest of the house was quiet, he frowned, Touya's eyes were wary of the answer. "Do you really want to know?" He replied quietly, "Will it affect how things are now between us?"

Touya sighed, "I . . ." he raised a knee and leant his chin on it. He stared at his lover; they'd been together for so long Touya could hardly imagine a life without him now. Their relationship was one of calm. Their kisses could be passionate, their time together exciting as they both leant about the magic that seemed to run throughout their lives. They laughed together, they would cry together. Touya's secrets about seeing ghosts, Yuki's realisation that he wasn't completely human, both were life rocking and yet, together, they had seen it all through. He shifted slightly, staring at his lover's bright amber eyes, now glowing slightly as Yue too peered through Yukito's eyes. It seemed that nothing could pull the three apart; their relationship was so strong. It was built on friendship, on trust, on love. Touya had been Yue and Yukito's best friend no matter what had happened, from the moment he's given his initial small power to save them from disappearing. Yukito had been open and trusting, even when he realised he was dying because his existence was designed to hide another, even with this knowledge he continued to love Touya and trust his guardian form. Yue had come to love both Yuki and Touya, even though his heart had been cold like ice since his beloved creator had died, hundred of years had passed since Clow had died and yet . . . Yue found love with another, with Touya who truly loved him. Touya sighed, "I don't want to know . . . but, Yuki . . . I need to know . . ." he murmured more to himself, "I need to know why . . .when . . ." he opened his eyes and stared deeply at Yuki and Yue, "Why didn't you ever tell me? . . . did he rape you, were you hurt?" 

Yuki propped himself up on his elbow and shook his head, his voice light and teasing quietly, "As a doctor you should know the perils of opening old wounds. . ."

The taller man's eyes closed and he sighed, "I need to know if it's true or if it's just one of Hei-ying's lies. . ."

"If you are asking me. . ." Yuki sat up and clasped his hands around his knees as he raised them. "Then your answer is no, I never slept with Hei-ying." 

There was silence between the two, and Touya felt never further from his lover than in this very moment. They stared at each other over their knees as the moonlight filtered in around them and the shadows of the room danced in the heavy silence. Touya swallowed, determined to continue this now. 

"If I ask Yue. . .?"

"Then yes. He did sleep with Hei-ying." Yuki swallowed and looked at Touya, "If you ask Hei-ying, then it really doesn't matter who you asked, because he did sleep with this body."

"It's true then. . .?"

"Yes."

Touya sighed and lay down again, he stared at the ceiling as he had done for the past couple of hours, he felt the bed shift slightly as Yue transformed in, the angel's eyes glowed dimly as he leant over Touya, flapping his wings slightly so he floated off the bed. He floated over Touya, staring at him with cool eyes, "it's not something I was proud of . . . I love you, but Hei-ying is my brace kin."

"Your brother, it's incest. . . Yue, you can't just sweep this under the carpet!"

Yue's eyes narrowed at his tone, "I believe we will go to our room, Yuki and I . . . we're . . . I cannot help the Ying Yang syndrome, there was no alternative . . ." 

As the angel floated away from him, Touya sat up and got out of his bed. Yue landed on his feet lightly, and strode toward the door. "Where are you going? To Hei-ying?"

Yue paused, and turned to look at him, "Are you implying I will run into the arms of my other lover?" His brow creased, "Touya. . ."

With three long strides, Touya closed the gap between them, wrapped his arms around Yue tightly, and bestowed a crushing kiss on his lips. Yue's hands came up, and buried themselves in Touya's hair. As they parted, the angel panted quietly, he tightened his fist in Touya's hair and growled, "Because Yukito mollifies his barbs and amusements with sweet smiles and gentle touches, do not expect me to be so, we are not the same person!"

Touya gasped as the angel leant forward on his toes and sank his teeth into Touya's bottom lip, pushing back with a bruising kiss of his own. He stared at the angel's fierce expression for a moment longer, before closing his eyes. They broke apart once more and stared at each other.

"Do not doubt my feelings for you. . ." Yue spat, a little angered, "Never doubt how I feel for you!" His eyes narrowed, glowing dimly in the darkness, "what Yukito feels for you may be some sweet hearted romance, but what I feel for you—"

Touya stepped forward, silencing his lover with a kiss. "Don't say it . . . don't imply that you two are in competition for my heart . . ." the tall magician shook his head, "I love you both . . ." he frowned as Yue's eyes closed briefly, "I love you both!"

"Then what does it matter . . ." Yue murmured quietly, unexpectedly calm now, "What does it matter that Hei-ying had for a couple of hours what you may take and I-we. . . *we* will give to you for the rest of your life . . .?"

Touya glanced down, "I . . ." 

The angel took a step back, "It *is* just a matter of words to you . . . to everyone, why is it all just a matter of words?" He stepped back once more, "To Hei-ying, to you, it is just a matter of words, but to Yukito and I . . ." he lifted his head and opened his eyes, "it is the difference between our souls, our hearts!" He shook his head, "I thought you—"

His head snapped up as Touya made a swift motion with his hand, "Don't!" he stared at Yue, "Come here."

The stubborn angel folded his arms.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Touya stepped forward, "You were with Hei-ying, I accept that, but what I really need to know . . ." he paused and thought for a moment more, "What I need to know is will it happen again . . .?"

"Never." The two jerked with surprise as Hei-ying stepped in, he shrugged as he approached the lover, "Yue is my brother, you are my master . . . and your auras are so vibrant you disturb my sleep." He hissed irritably as he frowned, "what are you arguing about? I have no desire to take my master, I have no desire to take my younger brother, I have no desire to take anyone so long as I live this second time." 

Touya shook his head, "The Ying Yang—"

"Will be negated, rendered useless as soon as the last of Sakura's magic is banished from my upkeep." Hei-ying folded his arms, and moved so he could stand next Yue. The two, in the dim light, resembled each other greatly, the only difference was that Yue's eyes were glowing with undirected, unused passion and Hei-ying's features were held in a wearied look of disinterest. The dark angel sighed sharply, "If you want to get rid of this paranoia as soon as possible, *master*, I suggest you work on your skills as a master, as *my* master." 

Touya's eyes widened at Hei-ying's brisk tone. "You feel nothing for Yue now?"

Hei-ying's lips twitched into half a smile, as he stared at Touya, "I think if you do not take him now, he will explode . . ." he spared Yue an appreciative glance before smirking at Touya. He turned from the two, and walked out of the room, closing the doors behind him. The two stared at each other for a long moment, before they heard Sakura's voice softly on the other side of the door, and Hei-ying's equally soft reply of assurance. 

"I love you."

Yue's arms fell out of their defensive posture, as the angel sighed. "I know. . . but you can't question my judgement, I am yours and yours alone, there is no one in existence that can take my hand from yours . . . "

Touya swallowed, and nodded, opening his arms as he moved to embrace his lover. "We're a couple of old fools, Yue . . ."

Yue sunk his teeth into the soft skin between Touya's neck and his shoulder, as he stretched his arms around the taller man's bare chest. "To-ya . . ." he murmured, "You are one of the most powerful magicians in the world, like Clow Reed . . . you may have a hundred years if you so wish . . . twenty eight is hardly anything in the magic world . . ."

Touya groaned quietly as the angel continued to nip and bite his skin lightly, felt fingernails draw across skin tightly as the angel worked down his body. He had learnt, as Yukito was the better lover during the day . . . Yue was the better during the night . . .

"Mmm . . . looks tasty . . ." Yue murmured quietly, as he pushed Touya back to the bed. He flicked his tongue over Touya's collarbone and dipped his hand into Touya's loose pyjamas, he smiled as he muttered, "I could eat all of you . . ."

Touya closed his eyes and groaned, the tension of the last hour drawing away, melting as he listened to the angel speak. He frowned slightly as he heard Yuki 'reply', "If I were to eat this much in terms of food, Yue, I would not fit into my school uniform!"

Yue was a very demanding lover if he was compared to Yukito. Adventurous and spontaneous, the angel was the one that liked to try all manner of things. He bit if he didn't like it, he bit if he did. . . Touya could tell what turned his angel on by the growls and purrs, the little shivers. Like Yuki, Yue was very responsive, unlike Yuki; Yue was far more vocal about it. 

"Then we should share tonight's . . . *feast* . . ." Yue recommended naughtily, sending shivers up and down Touya's spine. "I'll start him off, you may finish him . . ."

The large hands of the taller man came up as Touya tried to reach for his lover, but Yue batted his hands away. He tried again, trying to lace his hands in the silken hair, but Yue growled this time and pinned one hand down as the other busied itself with untying the knot in the draw string trousers.    

Touya chuckled quietly as his mythical lover's hand began to busy itself. He groaned quietly, as Yue's voice switched with Yuki's and then back again. 

"You two . . ."

Today was the day.

Sighing, Tomoyo righted the hat again.

Behind her, Eriol glanced at Ruby, checking over her again. The butterfly girl smiled brilliantly at her master, the injuries she had sustained were gone, and once more she was strong and capable. Eriol nodded to her and glanced at his relative, Syaoran was looking intense, the Little Wolf was still concerned about Lord Kuei and his entourage. 

The magician had contacted them, saying he would arrive today, even though he was three days late. 

Today was the day they would discover what had happened to Clow's skull, to mister Hilligans' skull, and why Hei-ying had been brought back to life. 

Hei-ying's memories had returned to the point where he could remember what had happened to the Reeds, what he had done to them. Eriol had been angry, but also relieved when Hei-ying told him that he'd been the one to kill Carolyn Zenith Reed, the youngest of his relatives. Hei-ying had recounted, in soft tones and obviously censored speech, that he'd snapped Carolyn's neck cleanly, so that she wouldn't suffer too much. However, even the dark angel had to admit his memories were not completely accurate due mostly to the fact, he couldn't tell what was real, and what was put there by Kyree. Kyree, like Clow had done to Yue and Keroberos, had manipulated Hei-ying's mind heavily. While Clow misguided Yue and Keroberos' memory of his death, Kyree misguided Hei-ying over her identity. There were moments when Hei-ying couldn't tell who was in his memory, if he had one memory of Clow during his time with Kyree, he couldn't tell if it was real, a dream, or Kyree masquerading as her former life. 

It was painful to remember, and even Sakura noticed Hei-ying's grown coldness toward Clow's memory. 

As his memory returned, a cold burning stone of hate began to form in Hei-ying's heart. 

Feelings of loathing that had been directed at Yue once, imploded and focused on Clow's memory. Hei-ying was beginning to detest the man who created him; Keroberos wasn't the only one who was amazed by Hei-ying's reaction to the mention of Clow's name.

Keroberos had been there when Hei-ying would openly gaze lovingly at Clow, had been there all the time and had never seen one hateful look at Clow from his eldest brother.

But now . . .

He glanced at Hei-ying now; the tall dark angel smoothed out his lapels and glanced critically at Yue. The pale guardian's lips pursed as he lifted his hand to Yue's jacket and picked off some unseen piece of fluff. Keroberos shook his head. Even though his feelings to Clow and his brothers were rapidly becoming the polar opposite, Hei-ying's mannerisms remained the same. He was still the obsessive perfectionist.

He'd not taken to levitating, but in the week since his attack, Hei-ying had taken to his duties toward Touya with zeal. Touya became much more comfortable with the dark angel, who was always nearby, but not imposing. Touya could call Hei-ying at any moment, and the angel would be at his side quickly but not . . . Keroberos frowned as he tried to think of the words to describe it. The only way he could think of it was in relation to what Clow had had with Hei-ying. For instance, if Clow called Hei-ying in the middle of the night, the angel would be at his side instantly, perfectly dressed in his robes and his hair absolutely in place as if the angel had been waiting for it. But with Touya, if Hei-ying were called at a late time . . . Hei-ying would come, although it wouldn't be so instantaneous, and he'd be dressed as if he'd been in bed. 

It seemed like Hei-ying was more relaxed, but also mindful of his duties.

Keroberos blinked as he found Hei-ying staring back at him. 

The dark angel raised an inquisitive eyebrow before shaking his head. He stepped over to Keroberos and knelt down – another new trait, Hei-ying didn't care about getting his clothes dirty – he glanced over Keroberos' appearance before reaching up to brush his thumb over the lion's lips. "Eating donuts again . . ." Hei-ying murmured with quiet irritation, "Keroberos, you are so messy!"

Keroberos stared at his brother, Hei-ying was changing . . . and Keroberos found himself sharing Yue's desire . . . 

Touya looked up, and quietly asked Hei-ying to help him for a moment with his robes. Hei-ying petted Keroberos on the head absently as he got up, and went to his new master. Keroberos stared after his elder brother with inner surprise.

Keroberos suddenly found himself wanting to know.

//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .?//

Touya spoke in low tones, motioning his sister as Hei-ying lifted his coat on to his shoulders, and then walked around to do up the buttons on Touya's collar. Hei-ying glanced up at Touya and nodded every few moments, smiling slightly as he took note of his duties, mind clearly resting on what he had to do, what his job was and figuring out how he would do it.

//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .?//

Keroberos blinked as he felt his brother Yue kneel beside him and stare at Hei-ying. The white haired angel's hand slipped up, and pulled slightly at Kero's ear, tickling absently. The two younger brothers exchanged a look, unnoticeably to the others, before they looked at their brother again. Hei-ying nodded once more to Touya, before stepping back and standing behind his new master dutifully. 

//Was this what Hei-ying would have been like . . .//

He caught his brothers' looks, and frowned slightly, flashing his eyes toward Sakura and silently reminding them that they too were supposed to be attending her.

//. . . if he'd survived after Kyree's attack . . .?//

The two younger guardians took their positions either side of Sakura, Yue daring a sidelong glance at his brother and his new master, Yue's love, Touya. Hei-ying blinked, and turned his jade eyes to the side disapprovingly. Ruby's mouth fell open and she leant forward from her position behind Tomoyo and Eriol. She stared at the silent communication between the three older guardians. Spinel blinked as her hand reached down and tapped him on the head. He glanced at her, and her slow smile. He followed her gaze and couldn't help the same small smile fill his face. Hei-ying was frowning ever so disapprovingly at his younger brothers and cousins, but he too could feel it. He was becoming one of them.

//Is this what I would have been like . . . if I'd been a true guardian?//

Hei-ying's chin rose ever so slightly as he glanced at his master. A master who trusted him. Touya glanced over his shoulder and smiled slightly as he felt Hei-ying's cool magical presence begin to warm.

//If I'd survived . . .?//

Eriol couldn't help the smile that grew on his features, behind him his guardians snapped their attention toward the door, but clearly their magical auras flushed with happiness and pride.

//If I'd never given into my insanity . . .?//

Sakura blinked as she felt a strange rush of warm magic from her guardians, from Yue! She felt Keroberos and Yue's auras flare with warmth and satisfaction. It was strange, but the feeling came over her clearly. They were happy for Hei-ying, something had finally clicked between them all and Hei-ying was accepted as a real guardian. She turned so she could see them all, Ruby and Spinel stood either side of Tomoyo and Eriol, their chins raised and looking every bit of the fierce guardians they could be. Syaoran nodded slightly to her, and beyond him Keroberos was sat back; he was looking like a real guardian beast of the seal, with his gold eyes glowing slightly. Her emerald eyes met with Yue's, the cool distance of the Judgement Maker's amethyst was undermined only by the gentle look of an awed youngest brother. She turned to see her brother, his full set of robes – like Eriol, Syaoran and herself – only adding to the mysticism of the moment. His head was turned slightly as he spoke quietly to Hei-ying while the angel leant forward to listen to a last minute command. Hei-ying nodded and returned to his position, and then Sakura could see it . . .

//. . . If I'd never been created with the obedience spell . . .?//

A far cry from the harsh, cruel demon that'd nearly killed his child brother, the dark, melancholy filled wreck of a guardian who died quietly when all around him was being reborn was a faded memory now. Hei-ying stood tall by his master's side, he was calm, collected and in control. He was sane. He had a purpose worthy of his existence. Jade eyes flickered in her direction, and a slight smile pulled telling at thin lips.

//Was this what I would have been like had I survived everything after Clow and Kyree?//

Sakura turned away and stared at the door as she felt Maduokai approach. She couldn't help the smile bursting on her face.

_. . _. It was.

"It's a pleasure to finally come face to face with the Mistress of Clow Reed's cards . . ."

"Thank you . . ." Sakura bowed deeply, "It is a pleasure to meet with you . . . I hope you can help us in our dilemma."

Maduokai bowed back to her, "I shall certainly try my hardest. With the magic I learnt from the almost forgotten Egyptian magi, I shall try my best to reveal who has stolen from you." He glanced at the five guardians that stood behind the five magicians. "I'm very impressed by your creations . . . they certainly are very impressive, they look so very intricate." He motioned his own guardians, "As you can probably tell, mine are little more than enchanted papers and implorances to the gods for power . . . they are titans, who I have merely given physical form . . ."

The four humanoid guardians stood, staring at the group disinterestedly, each a wild mixture of one colour save one. The black and white haired boy was strikingly fitted with clothes that were black, but with folds in the clothing that were coloured white. Maduokai smiled, as he motioned forward two others. One was a small man with a fierce mask placed over his face, his clothing something out of a storybook, too long to see any feet at all. He carried a trunk as he stepped into the light. Eriol frowned as he noticed the mask's eyeholes were covered with a fine black mesh, or possibly there were no eyes. It seemed that beyond the mask there was no one . . . the other was the Lady Asil, she was dressed in a form fitting kimono, intricately made with beautiful dragons and landscapes lovingly sewn and large deep sleeves. Her feet were bound into small wooden slippers that clacked pleasingly as she moved with complete grace. Her mask, as intricately and carefully painted as her clothes, was closed eyed, painted long black eyelashes demurely resting on painted slightly blushing cheeks. Painted red lips stood out strikingly from the white face. In her hand, a traditional paper umbrella stuck out from under the large sleeve. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a traditional painting from the Ming Dynasty. 

Sakura tried hard not to gape at the gentle beauty of the woman.

"My personal servant, my Lady Asil . . . and my manservant, Sen." Sen bowed somewhat woodenly, as Lady Asil dipped her head gracefully. Maduokai turned back to Sakura pleased that he'd made an impression on the obviously young woman. Sakura blinked as she noticed Maduokai smiling at her, and hastily schooled her features into something more becoming of a card mistress. "I know you've met them, but let me properly introduce you to the members of my family . . ." She raised a gloved hand and motioned Eriol, "This is Hiirawagizawa Eriol, former reincarnation of Clow Reed, now keeper of half of his magic." 

Eriol tipped his head, and held up Tomoyo's hand, "This is my wife, Hiirawagizawa Tomoyo . . ." Tomoyo curtsied, before Eriol motioned with his other hand, "And these are our guardians, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon."

"Pleasure to meet you." Both guardians said quietly as they bowed in unison. Maduokai blinked with surprise. 

"They are aware of themselves, what interesting creations . . ." he tipped his head to them, clearly amused by them, "Pleasure to meet you."

Sakura smiled a little, "And this is my brother, Kinomoto Touya, the keeper of the other half of Clow Reed's magic."

Touya nodded his greeting and motioned the black haired guardian behind him, "This is my guardian, Hei-ying." The jade eyed being stared at Maduokai for a long moment before dipping his head. Touya blinked as Hei-ying mentally whispered a thought to him, //familiar . . .//. Maduokai stared at Hei-ying as well.

//So this is the dead guardian . . .// he cursed his wind dragon for his carelessness, but noticed that Hei-ying didn't recognise him or any of the others. The guardian's prolong stare showed that he found them familiar but couldn't really place them, //good// Maduokai smiled tightly as he returned his gaze to Sakura. Perhaps Hei-ying's mind was too damaged to make the connections just yet, but he had to hurry . . . Maduokai decided, rather than risk the chance of Hei-ying remembering him.

Sakura motioned the intense Chinese boy behind him, "This is my confidant, Li Syaoran, Clan Head to the Li Clan of China."

"We've met . . ." Maduokai nodded, "A pleasure to be in such powerful company once more . . ."

Syaoran nodded tightly glancing at the Lady Asil. Her features were hidden, but her face was turned to him, and her head tilted at a inquisitive angle.

"And these are my personal guards . . ." Sakura raised both her hands, "Keroberos the Guardian beast . . . and Yue the Judgement Maker . . ." 

"Ah, Clow Reed's most infamous guardians . . . pray tell . . ." Maduokai glanced them both over, "Is it true you are not the only guards that Clow Reed created . . .?"

Keroberos frowned, as Yue glared at him, "What relevance is it to you?"

"I only suggest that . . ." Maduokai smiled tightly, "If the rumours are true, that Clow created a defective guardian, then it's highly possible that this rejected creature may be wreaking its revenge on Clow . . ."

Touya felt Hei-ying's aura shift slightly, the warmth seeping from it as his fury built. The taller magician shook his head, "We've already discounted that . . . Clow Reed's skull was not stolen by the third guardian . . ."

"So the rumours are true, Clow Reed ignored the Law of Triad!" Maduokai's eyebrows shot up, "Such arrogance from such a powerful magician!" He shook his head, "Incredible . . ." 

He glanced up as Sakura stepped forward, "Please . . . let's move on from this . . . how can we help you discover Clow's remains?"

Rain bounced hard off the large umbrella. 

Freezing cold, Ruby held the umbrella over Tomoyo carefully, determined not to let the wife of her master get wet. Ruby hadn't liked that she was so easily subdued during Hei-ying's accidental attack, and refused to let anything happen to her mistress. Tomoyo gazed over the park, as Maduokai marked out the space to perform his spell. Beside her, the Lady Asil stood stoically; any attempt to make conversation had been met with silence. 

Sen, Maduokai's manservant was equally as silent but there was a difference. Tomoyo frowned as she watched the two, Asil's silence was at her own will, Sen's . . . the old man swayed slightly, as if trying fight the bonds of the spell that held him . . . Sen's was enforced. 

"Sakura-chan . . ." Tomoyo murmured under her breath, "Please be careful . . . all is not what it seems . . ."

Maduokai glanced at the card mistress, and smiled.

His plan was going correctly, the card mistress would give him power enough to reincarnate Clow Reed . . . and then, with the aid of his careful preparations, would escape with his prize and use Clow Reed, the very reason any of this had ever come about, the reason why his beloved sister had locked herself away, to bring her back into being. The Lady Asil would have her purpose fulfilled, and then as his sister's soul filled her, he and his sister Maduoshi would rise up, and become two of the most formidable magicians in china once more. The Kuei family would prosper once more!

He smiled as his guards took their positions, water and fire one side of him, and wind and lightning on the other. He looked over and motioned Hilligans – 'Sen the Manservant' – over to him. The spell the old man was under was hastily put together; therefore the motions of the man were not fluid. Ah well, it didn't really matter that much since Maduokai didn't have any use for the man. He pulled the trunk out of 'Sen's' hands and opened it. He pulled the black velvet bag containing Clow's skull, and smiled as he pulled the great magician's bones out of the bag. 

"Clow Reed . . ." Maduokai whispered to the skull, "The time of my family's revenge is upon us all . . . thy time as master magician has passed, the Kuei family shall once again rule upon this Earth . . ."

The very thing they searched for was right here in his hand, and they had no way of knowing . . .

~~~~

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: I know what you are wondering . . . why the slight change of tone in story writing? That's what I'm wondering too . . . but then again, I just happen to be listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean's soundtrack . . . DVD OUT DECEMBER 2ND!! . . . and I've been re-watching the extras on the Lord Of The Ring's DVDs . . . and who can help but write in such tones, I want to be a filmmaker one day, a writer of films, whatever, I just want to make films like Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, films that are just that tiny bit magical! And have Orlando Bloom in them. Cardcaptor Sakura 3: In This tainted Soul with Orlando Bloom as Yue and Jonny Depp as Clow anyone? [trails off as she tires to think of a decent actor to play Hei-ying, Alan Rickman seems good, Hugo Weaving brings giggles, Keanu Reeves makes her eye tick]

Jack Sparrow: . . .

DrM: [frowns] why isn't he saying anything?

Clow: [mutters something to DrM]

DrM: oh, yeah . . . [hastily types]

CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: That's better luv, now type in the Pearl and a island full o' Rum and we'll all be very 'appy . . .

DrM: [grins] I love the man . . .

Clow: [sighs] let the girl watch the damned movie three times and what happens? She finds a new yaoi pairing . . . [shakes head] Poor Demented Dr Megalomania . . . please review and let her know what you thought . . .

DrM: also please note that this chapter has been un-beta-read due to forgetfulness of author therefore will be prone to be revised and replaced, please don't let this put you off reviewing as the minor changes will most likely be to grammar and spelling.

Clow: Ooooh. . . sounding officious. . . are we?

DrM: I disincline to acquiesce to your observation.

CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: That's the way, Luv. . . [slurs quietly to Clow] Y'know I was always on your side in the matter . . .

Clow: [whispers back] Beware, I think she's writing a fic about you, the boy Will Turner, and the Black Pearl . . .

CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow: [eyes wide and fearful] what about rum? Will there be rum?! Why is the rum gone?!   


	12. Misdemeanor

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Eleven: Misdemeanour   

He tipped his head back and breathed deeply.

His heart pounded, he was nervous. Pale fingers betrayed him, trembling slightly as carefully kept fingernails turned slowly purplish blue. Water dripped from his robes, trailing tiny rivers over the large, polished gemstones on his hands. Part of his old costume he could never part with, part of his life he could never forget. He didn't want to forget it. 

Still, his hands shook.

Bright, emerald eyes blinked and a smaller, warm hand slipped into his freezing cold grip, lacing a soft glove with his painfully thin fingers. Looking down at her, he fought desperately the urge to fall to his knees into the deepening puddle below him and hold her by her waist, burying his face gratefully into the soft folds of her robe. He shivered, his lips beginning to show the very first signs of cold, turning a paler red and almost hinting lilac. He glanced at his brother. 

The golden eyes were brilliant, even in the gloom of the cloudy night-time. The eldest cherry tree in the Tsukimine Shrine glowed dully in the teeming rain, reacting to the strength of the magicians gathered. Softly glowing, gold tinted wings stretched, and the old lion covered his mistress' head. He glanced at their younger brother, Yue, as the moon angel, carefully stepped just out of Keroberos' reach, unwilling to give the enemy any sign of weakness. 

A shiver racked him again, and forced him to tighten his jaw almost painfully to prevent his teeth clacking together.

Yue had been born in the winter; he was naturally immune to any kind of cold.

Keroberos – the lion shook himself futilely – was born in the summer, he grumbled under his breath about the rain.

And finally, Hei-ying . . . Hei-ying had been born to the Spring, a time that was neither winter's bitter cold, not summer's blistering heat, and the rain was Spring's most beautiful forte. He loved it, particularly the light May falls but this heavy, constant . . .

He frowned and glanced at his master.

Touya stared at the rain with dark blue eyes, frowning deeply. Perhaps he sensed it too . . . but most likely, he sensed something, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. It almost made him smile fondly, his master was indeed very powerful and had the instincts to be a brilliant magician. However, he'd never been taught the spells and incantations, the theory and the practices of a traditional magician. Without them, Touya would always be partially sighted with magic. 

His jade green eyes flicked to the Li Clan head. 

Syaoran did know something was wrong. The boy glanced around, his right hand tight on his sword and his left holding out the laisen board. He was careful to keep his expression just above suspicious, as if he did not want to alert anyone else but Hei-ying had killed enough shady characters on the streets of London to know what a 'look out' expression was.

He turned his attention slowly away, careful as well. 

Hei-ying didn't know what felt so wrong, but rain like this . . . this kind of rain only occurred when nature itself knew something was hideously wrong. A silent warning bell to all to stay away.

//Be on your guard//

Clow's former reincarnation's words echoed through out all of the guardians' minds, carefully avoiding Sakura's attention. Even though the girl was perhaps more powerful than him, he was protective over her still the same. Hei-ying saw Ruby Moon move a step closer to her mistress, the guardian slipping one black gloved hand up to rest on her mistress' shoulder. A comforting gesture to some, but to Hei-ying it seemed more like Ruby was ready to drag her mistress behind her at the very first hint of danger. Beside them both, unbothered to the point of being unaware of the rain, Lady Asil stood impassively observing the proceedings through her sightless mask. She got to Syaoran on a level Hei-ying wasn't entirely sure he understood. There was something about her, something familiar. Yes, Hei-ying felt that. That deep sense of connection. However he was sure what he felt, the weird sense of déjà vu, was completely different to the feeling that the Li clan head felt. What Syaoran was feeling . . . the Little Wolf glared at Lady Asil sometimes, as if he was accusing her of being something she was not. And then . . . he would look away suddenly, as if he were ashamed of his accusation. His dark coffee eyes, though carefully maintained, betrayed his expression. Hei-ying felt another shiver, and this time he tried to suppress it as his jade eyes rested on Sen.

Sen the manservant.

Sen, who never spoke.

Sen, whose movements were so wooden.

Sen, who honestly haunted Hei-ying.

The manservant's very existence frightened Hei-ying, thrilled him, and shook him to the core. Whenever Sen even briefly broke through the spell, enough to even turn his head slightly; it would always leave his sightless eyes on Hei-ying. It made the dark angel want to cower, shy away from the manservant as if he feared . . .

The man's head turned again, trembling as he fought against the spell.

Hei-ying tightened his grip on Sakura's hand slightly, and felt his master's gaze turn upon him as he tried to pull his gaze from Sen's. 

He swallowed quietly, biting his paling lip. 

Fighting against the hysterical words bubbling up in his throat like dirty water. 

//Why do you stare at me so?! Have I not redeemed myself?! You know nothing of the pain I have felt! You don't know what I have been through! I killed only because I have never lived! Why do you stare at me—//

Hei-ying's jade eyes snapped open as a warm hand landed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his self-induced trace. 

Sakura stared at him with worried eyes; Keroberos had stepped closer, his wing now guarding his mistress from him rather than the rain. He looked at the owner of the hand, his Master Touya, and saw clear worry in usually stoic blue eyes. 

Eriol glanced in their direction briefly, disinterested. Syaoran gave him a little disapproving scowl. 

Hei-ying let his tense shoulders drop, and he breathed out. "I'm sorry," he whispered, letting go of Sakura's hand. "I . . . do not think that all is well . . ."

"Then we should abandon this!" Keroberos growled, just as silently. He glared at Maduokai as the man continued his preparations, "This is nonsense! Stuff and nonsense, the man's a mad man!"

"Kero-chan!" Sakura admonished with a hissed whisper, "we've got to try everything we can to find Clow-sama! I know . . ." she glanced at Maduokai, "what he wants is not to hurt us . . . I can feel that."

Keroberos pursed his lips, giving her the same hidden disapproving glare he used to give Clow, whenever the magician gave any sort of responsibility to Hei-ying.

The dark angel glanced at Yue. 

The youngest of the three brothers stared intently at Maduokai, watching everything he was doing. However, he was aware of what was going on. This was something that Yue excelled in. Rarely did something slip his attention, and when it did, it was a cause for concern. 

"He's not going to cast anything of any danger . . ."

Spinel's voice carried skilfully over the wind, almost silent yet perfectly clear to each of them. Yue nodded slowly, whispering with the same carefulness. "I can see that too . . . there is nothing thus far that I see that can harm us, Keroberos . . ." 

The lion growled again and glanced at Hei-ying, "And you . . . what were you muttering about?"

The jade eyed, dark angel blinked. He glanced at Sen; the manservant's attention had slipped away again. //forced . . .// his mind hissed, paranoia rising up like gorge in his throat, //his attention was forced away!//

"Nothing . . ." Hei-ying swallowed, he glanced at Touya. "I am able to do my duty."

He blinked as he felt Sakura's hand slip back into his once more.

"I know . . ." Sakura smiled at him gently, she reached out and touched Keroberos' head and looked up at Yue, her expression singing volumes. "I trust all of you."

"This rain is horrible."

"Shut up!" He hissed to his sister dragon, "do not disturb the master!"

T'listia grunted quietly, clicking her forked tongue against her teeth slowly. Their human forms were not entirely human still, and her blue hair - remarkable in that it seemed to be every shade of blue possible - lay damply against her extremely pale, almost bluish forehead. Mushu shook his head; his spiky black and white hair tossing large drops of water away uselessly. He glanced up at T'alusia, the fire dragon. Like their sister, T'alusia was a study in the colour red. His hair ranged from dark, dark brownish reds, to bright, vibrant orangey reds, which seemed to spark with heat. His eyes seemed like burning embers, flaring brightly when he was angered and smouldering quietly as he watched. He hated the heavy rain and every so often glared at their master.

"You know he can't do anything about him," Mushu murmured, "it's the skull . . . it's attracting bad luck." 

"Hmph . . ." T'alas, the wind dragon, muttered quietly, yellowy greens that had been aged and matured to perfection highlighted his long hair, drooping eyebrows and beard. "I'm not surprised. He's too weak for many, simple things . . ."

"Controlling the weather is not simple!" Mushu hissed at him, "You speak too disrespectfully, elder brother! Must I remind you, he holds your existence now?"

"Bah . . ." T'alas rolled his eyes in a slow way, not too bothered that he took so long for such a short gesture. "The four winds have existed since the dawn of time, we shall continue to exist even if this physical vessel should crack and be destroyed. We would just seep out and blow away . . ."

Mushu glanced at his brother and sister as they nodded in agreement. T'alas was right of course, the four dragons could not be contained by mere spells and incantations . . . but, he glanced upward and let the rain fall on his face for a long while. 

It felt good to simply be.

She put her hands into her pocket and withdrew her cards. Holding them tightly to her chest, she breathed in and whispered to them and herself, "Everything is going to be ok . . ."

It was her spell. It was what had saved her every time, and this time she hoped it would save not only Hei-ying, but also Mister Hilligans and Clow Reed from whatever held them. She looked up and stared at Syaoran, she could feel his heart, could feel his magic. He was trying to help her, he was always trying to help her and for that she would forever be grateful. She hoped that one day his family could see how much she loved him for it, how much they meant to each other but until them . . .

She glanced to Tomoyo, the longhaired girl giving her a discrete 'OK' and reminding Sakura to breathe. Her best friend, Tomoyo kept her grounded. Giving her always the same support since she had sat down beside her in their first year together. Sakura nodded to her, smiling helplessly as Tomoyo quickly whipped out her video camera and the familiar red light winked at Sakura, reminding her it was time.

"What do I need to do?"

Sakura turned and looked up at Hei-ying.

The stoic guardian had recovered from the disturbing moment he'd fallen into. Sakura still held his hand tightly, feeling the need to remind him that they were actually here. That she had not been lying when she promised him that they would be there for him. Hei-ying looked cold, showing the signs of it. It made her wonder about Yue. Yue never showed any signs of being cold, yet Hei-ying shivered periodically, his lips were turning slightly blue. His hands shook, his fingers felt almost like frozen claws. He looked tired, wearier and most certainly warier of the rain. But still, Yue stood there unaffected bordering on unaware of the rain, his arms calmly folded, his hair slightly damp yet still repelling the rain. His amethyst eyes stared across the Shrine with a clarity that Hei-ying seemed to lack now. He was watching actions with the eyes of a rational judgement maker; Hei-ying watched everything with the eyes of an worried advisor. 

The realisation of the visual differences hit Sakura hard. 

Keroberos growled quietly as she swayed slightly. "Sakura-chan . . ."

"I'm okay . . ." Sakura instantly assured him, unable though to take her eyes off both Hei-ying and Yue. "I'm fine . . ." she gathered her wits quickly, "okay . . . what do I need to do now?"

Hei-ying nodded at Keroberos and then glanced about once more. He seemed to gather himself for a few seconds before he turned clear, focused jade eyes on Sakura. "Mistress Sakura, for this spell you are required to channel each of the cards. Also, you must be able to do this through me . . ." he paused looking slightly frustrated. "Normally you would have a close relationship with the being you are channelling through, however Keroberos and Yue are not . . . created for this kind of spell, their functions are not sufficient for them to do it." He paused again, glancing at Keroberos quickly then back at her, "Also, as mistress of the cards, you cannot risk two such important guardians when you are not familiar with the spell." At her look, he explained, "Normally, mistress Sakura, you would practice with a false form of the guardian, it would act like safety switch for the guardian, only the false form would be damaged."

Although Hei-ying's tone was . . . Keroberos frowned as he glanced at Sakura's increasingly horrified look . . . Hei-ying was trying to be reassuring, yet he was forgetting his idea of 'reassuring' was slightly out of sync with the rest of the normal world. Rolling his golden eyes, Keroberos whispered to Sakura, "He doesn't mean any serious damage . . . the guardian would be able to fix it easily!"

The card mistress' shoulders relaxed, the nervousness melting from her face slowly until Hei-ying frowned and muttered, "There are some things a guardian can't do . . ."

Keroberos shot him a sharp look and the dark angel shrugged. Sakura looked at him with sharp emerald green eyes, her mind calming itself as she felt her magic stir within her heart. She worried for Hei-ying, who seemed to slip into carelessness at times when it came to his own existence, but now she had other, more important things to worry about now. Her cards were nervous, she could feel the way they trembled in her hand. 

Sakura closed her eye for a moment, "tell me what I need to do now."

"Can you channel?"

Sakura shook her head; "I don't even know if I know what that means . . ."

Hei-ying pursed his lips together, "When you turned Yue from Clow's creation into your guardian . . ." he motioned the angel, "That must have taken a lot of magic, you can't possibly have had the power to do it alone at that age . . . therefore the cards must have channelled some of their magic to you . . ." he frowned at her look of incomprehension, "Did you invoke the cards at any time, anything that sounded vaguely like . . . O, cards of Clow, these will be thy guards; thee will obey them?"

Sakura blinked, "Yes, although I said . . ." she closed her eyes and recited, "O, cards of Sakura, these will be thy rulers, after me; thee will obey them." 

Hei-ying nodded, "That is part of the channelling spell, but nothing else?" Sakura shook her head, and Hei-ying stared at her for a moment before murmuring appreciatively, "you are very strong then . . ." 

Sakura blinked, "huh?"

"Nothing important." Hei-ying closed his eyes, "You will need to invoke each card separately . . . remember when . . ." a smirk pulled at his lips, "No, you weren't there . . ." he opened his jade eyes and stared at Sakura, "When Kyree stole your cards, she had to invoke each one to get them to come to her and make her spell work, when Clow created the four element cards he had to invoke each card to lend him magic enough to cast his spell . . ." he motioned the cards in her hand, "You will have to invoke each card to channel the magic."

"Like when I asked the cards to come back to me . . .?"

Hei-ying nodded, "Something like that . . ." he tilted his head, "I've yet to remember that particular battle . . . and obviously you were successful . . ." Sakura's eyes widened as Hei-ying glanced off, absently continuing, "I wonder how it went . . ."

Sakura touched his shoulder, "I'm sorry . . ." she whispered, the rain pelting around them, "that battle . . . that was the battle that you died in . . . "

Hei-ying looked down, "I see." He lifted his head and stared at her, all the curiosity he had replaced by the business of the cards. "I believe it would be safer for you to ask me to perform the spell in your name, therefore I will act as a buffer between you and Maduokai. If he would try anything, it would effect me first and I would be able to break the link. . ."

Keroberos frowned, "Is that possible?" Hei-ying looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and the lion sighed, "Why didn't Clow ever tell us these things?"

"Most likely because he thought that he'd already taught you . . ." Hei-ying turned and brushed himself off, "Clow Reed wasn't exactly the most organised of magicians, you know that."

Keroberos snorted, as Sakura bit her lip, "But. . ." Hei-ying glanced at her, and Sakura swallowed, "Will it hurt you?"

"The safety of the card mistress—"

"Will it hurt you?" Sakura demanded, "If the spell goes wrong will you be hurt?"

"If Maduokai attempts to send a spell to kill you with, then I will suffer the effects of such a spell, but the link will be broken . . . anything that he intends to do to you, will be done to me, the safety of the card mistress—"

"I don't want—" Hei-ying raised his fingers and pressed them against Sakura's lips.

"The safety of the card mistress is my duty, it would hurt me more to know that I stood by and did nothing to protect you . . ." Hei-ying motioned his brothers and cousins, "As it would to them . . . I am no different . . ."

Sakura nodded hesitantly; "If anything starts to seem odd, please do what you can . . ." Hei-ying nodded, and Sakura grabbed his wrist, "Promise me!"

Hei-ying stared at her, surprise making him widen his eyes, "Of course . . ."

"Are you ready, Card Mistress?"

The group turned to find Maduokai standing in his place. Eriol walked over to Sakura, and touched her arm. "Touya and I will stand either side of you, we will move into action if anything goes wrong . . ." "Keroberos, Spinel?"

The two sun guardians sat up, as Eriol gave his orders.

"Please circle this area, keep your eyes open for trouble . . . Yue, you will stand with Syaoran, Touya and I . . ." he glanced at Hei-ying, "I assume you will be able to perform this spell . . .?"

Hei-ying nodded. He glanced at Sakura and held out his hands. "Please."

Sakura looked at Maduokai sincerely, "It's not that I don't trust you, but Hei-ying will act as my double in this spell. . ."

Maduokai nodded his head, "Please, do what you can . . ." he smiled, "if you are ready to begin your transfer . . ."

"Sakura, step behind me . . . stay close enough so that our magic circles overlap . . ." Hei-ying spoke quietly as he felt everyone move into their positions. He glanced up as the clouds finally broke above them and the rain petered out. The nighttime sky soon cleared and the stars began to shine through the clouds. 

Maduokai picked up the skull he'd been carrying around with him, and placed it in the middle of the circled area. Hei-ying stared at the skull, something stirring in his mind. Was this familiar to him?

"Begin when you are ready." Maduokai commanded, and Hei-ying glanced over his shoulder to see Sakura nod and raise her staff in one hand. 

The young mistress gasped aloud as she felt control touch her fingers.

Everything around them seemed to fade away and she looked at her fingers; it was as if she held glimmering jade green thread in her hands delicately. They were loops loosely around her fingers and she could feel each thread shimmer and shake, one tugged strongly at her little finger and she knew that this was Hei-ying's very existence in her hands. She looked closer at her hands and saw faintly under the jade green threads, tied tighter than them, were threads of silver and gold. 

Sakura felt afraid suddenly of moving her hands.

She had known she was the mistress of the guardians, but she was not so aware of how much power she really held over them. Her breath caught in her throat and suddenly she was afraid to move her hands lest she jerk and kill any of the three brothers. 

"Don't be afraid, Mistress Sakura . . ." Sakura looked up and in front of her, tied to the other ends of the jade threads, Hei-ying stood with his back to her. His voice was soft so not to alarm her too much, "You have lived every day since the opening of the book with these threads tied to your hands and never once have you harmed your guardians . . . I lend my control to you only for now, that is why every string is loose. Now, are you ready?"

Sakura didn't answer at first, she glanced at the threads once again before she closed her eyes and started to concentrate harder.

" . . . yes . . ." she finally spoke as the sound of light rain began to be heard in this fathomless world again, "I'm ready."

"Cast this spell, as the words come to you . . ." Hei-ying spoke once more then fell silent.

Sakura opened her eyes and raised her hands, absently noticing that the threads were gone and she was once more in the Tsukimine shrine. Before her Hei-ying shadowed her every movement, his eyes becoming completely blank, the light fading from them as he fell under the spell of Sakura's voice.

"Thou art that Sakura cards . . ." Sakura said aloud.

Hei-ying's voice was an echo, a whisper on the wind, "_Thou art the Sakura cards . . ."_

Sakura's magic circle began slowly to draw itself below her feet, white gold magic sparkling as it burnt line by line into the wet, stone tiles. Much dimmer only a little way off, the lines of Hei-ying's magic circle glowed like jade green embers as they too began to form.

"Thou art a power unto thine own."

_". . . unto thine own . . ."_

Wisps of magic floated up gently from the circles as the cards fluttered away from Sakura and surrounded Hei-ying. A slow breeze struck up from the glowing circles, making the wisps blow one way and then another. Soon, as the circles began to near completion, they glowed powerfully casting their surroundings into complete darkness. Sakura let her eyes slid shut and moments later Hei-ying mimicked her. 

"Before us is the magician, Lord Maduokai Kuei . . ."

_". . . Lord Maduokai Kuei . . ."_

"And he professes to have knowledge to reveal to us the location of Clow Reed, your master and creator . . ."

_". . . Clow Reed, our master and creator . . ."_

"To achieve this feat, however, he must lean upon you for the power . . ."

_". . . lean upon you for the power . . ."_

"I have agreed to this and through Hei-ying, I ask you to direct your influence . . ."

_". . . and though this guard, your mistress asks you to direct your influence . . ."_

The cards floated around Hei-ying in a wide circle, bobbing up and down as they made their decision. 

Sakura gazed at them and waited patiently as they considered the proposal. The cards moved in small groups, moving closer and glowing brightly. 

She smiled as she realised none of the cards had refused her, "Thank you . . ." she held up her hands again, "Cards, I direct you to Hei-ying, guardian of the star, servant of Master Kinomoto Touya . . ." through his name, "Your power is given . . ."

The cards began to spin hard, sparking with their magic, eager to comply with this exciting new spell. 

"RELEASE!" 

One of the cards, the Hope, stopped spinning, shimmered and exploded with a bright haze of magic, it turned into a small burning star as magic streamed from it and gathered in the form of a small glowing ball before Hei-ying's hand. Hei-ying's head snapped to the left hard, as one by one each of the cards came to his hand in this fashion. He watched as each of them shimmered and swirled to him with blank, jade eyes. 

Each card stopped their spinning, and gradually a small cluster of stars was surrounding Hei-ying, as the ball of magic in his hand shimmered brighter and brighter. White feathered wings burst from his back as the magic surged before him.  

Both of the magic circles grew brighter and started to give off powerful enchanted ripples as Hei-ying reached half way, Maduokai watched with amazement as the dark angel gathered the maelstrom of supernatural powers easily, unaware that the spell he'd placed on Clow's skull was weakening. The skull's jaws worked as if Clow himself was casting the same spell. It whispered every name of every card as they lent their magic to the spell.

The strong glowing wind whipped around his feet, the magic building at an almost frightening pace, Hei-ying drew a deep breath. Yue's eyes widened as he saw his brother command more magic than he'd ever seen Hei-ying show, it brought back memories, strange new memories Yue had never really ever accessed before. Memories of watching ice on a pond being broken by Hei-ying's supernatural fall off as the dark angel floated above the frozen over water. Memories of the awe he felt made his heart pound now. Hei-ying's eyes were shut, and he was operating off basic instinct now, flawless as he turned to the last card. 

Maduokai stared at Hei-ying for a long moment as the angel floated back down to the ground, cradling the immense ball of magic to his chest protectively. This creation, this defective creation he'd written off as useless . . . but he had no question why Clow had chosen to let this creation be buried beside him. Hei-ying's eyes were blank as he stared at Maduokai. His mind was overwhelmed by the magic and he was no longer aware of himself . . .

//. . . Familiar . . . ?//

_"Please . . . I love you . . ."_

_"You love me?" _

_"You told me to . . . you told me to love you . . . you and no-one else . . . to crave you and no-one . . . I have . . . I do . . . I always will . . . I've done everything I could to make sure no one could distract either of us from our love! I tried so hard with those two . . . and that old man! The pitiful old man! He didn't put up so much of a fight, but still I should have gotten to him sooner!"_

_"You are the one who drowned Marcibay . . . You are the threat that almost drowned Keroberos . . . that's why the Watery was snarling at you . . . and I was so blind . . . I was so arrogant in my powers . . .I must say, I thought I didn't have that particular Reed trait in my blood . . . but I was so wrong, wasn't I?"_

_"You are the Master Clow Reed . . ."_

_"Hei-ying . . . the Adviser of the Clow . . ."_

_"Every action you make . . ."_

_". . .I command thee. . ." _

_". . .every word you say. . ." _

_". . . as I strip thee of thy powers, remove from thee the magic I have bestowed upon you. . ."_

_". . . is ultimate and right. . ."_

_"I command thee . . . seal thyself in this form I have chosen . . ."_

_"And I . . . I must obey you . . ."_

_"Clow card!" _

_"NOOOOOOO!!!"_

// Why . . . Why are you so . . . familiar . . .?//

_ "I forgive you."_

_"At least Clow, Fujitaka . . . everyone that bastard . . .That *we* have killed have now been avenged." _

_" . . . And you? May I say you've been avenged?"_

_"I need avenging? Keroberos would hardly agree . . . Please do . . . remember me . . ." _

_"I will remember you."_

_" . . . And I will remember you . . ." _

_"I'm ready now . . ." _

_"Go, little moonbeam . . . Don't waste our mistress' magic by making her wait for you . . . I have one thing I wish to discuss with the stuffed animal here . . ."_

_"What is it, Hei-ying?"_

_"I have only one thing to ask you . . . You swore to Clow . . . that you'd always protect Yue . . . Good . . . I ask you . . . I ask you to hold by that oath for the rest of your existence . . ."_

_"Nothing else?"_

_ "Nothing else."_

_"Thy art the Guardians of the Master Clow Reed . . . Thy art a power unto thine own. Today, I, Kinomoto Sakura, thy Mistress and as thy friend, have elected to transform thee into mine own . . . O, cards of Sakura, these will be thy rulers, after me; thee will obey them. I command thee . . . with all the supremacy over the sun at thy will, the cards of the Earthy and the Firey under thy influence . . . Guard of the Sun, seal thyself, thy magic, thy very soul into this form I have chosen . . ." _

_"Beyond faith . . . Beyond chance . . ."_

_"Guardian, thy name given, thy name called . . . Keroberos, Release!!"_

_"Kero-chan?"_

_"It's still me, little one  . . . it's still me . . ."  _

_"Ready?"_

_"Beyond all else . . . In this tainted soul . . ."_

_"I command thee . . . With all the supremacy of the Moon at thy will, the cards of the Windy, the cards of the Watery under thy influence . . . Seal thyself, thy magic, thy very soul . . . into this form I have chosen . . ."_

_"There lies . . ."_

_"Guardian . . . thy name given, thy name called . . . Yue . . . RELEASE!!"_

_" . . . Hope."_

//Do I . . . Do I know you . . .?//

_"I know you . . . I know who you are . . ."_

//No . . . No . . . do I know you . . .?// 

Sakura whirled her staff around her wrist and raised it over her head. The slow breeze became a gale as she slammed her staff forward, hitting some otherworldly plain, Hei-ying's hands pushed away from his chest in the same moment and the ball of magic expanded like a dying star only to collapse in on itself and explode like a super nova. The shockwaves of magic extended far then again collapsed in on themselves, this time forming as an orbiting ring of magic around the skull at the centre of Maduokai's strange spell. The Chinese magician wasted not a single second as he stepped forward and began to chant, "Mehza Ha Toru. Mehza Ha Toru. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TORU!"

T'listia's human form suddenly exploded, and a beautiful giant Chinese dragon took her place. Sakura gasped as the massive watery dragon reared up and began to circle the skull. She was beautiful, she was composed of water, Sakura could see air bubbles trapped within her form as she moved. Light from the moon reflected off her. 

Yue looked at Hei-ying with concern. Hei-ying wasn't only channelling the magic from the cards; his own magic circle was beginning to leak jade green magic into the mix. He stared at Hei-ying's face and wondered why Hei-ying was whispering to himself. No spell ever created by Clow Reed needed chanting. Hei-ying's blank eyes were disturbing him, and he wanted to stop the spell. . . but his voice . . . his lips were moving but his voice . . .

"Mehza ha Toku. Mehza ha Toku. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TOKU!"

The red guardian's human form exploded as well, and from it a thin, flaming dragon appeared. T'alusia twisted around once before diving toward the pool of water left by T'listia. Touya raised his arm to cover his eyes from the hot sight, the skull in the middle of the circle was moving, he was sure of it. Its jaw was working, as if it was about to speak. Was this how Maduokai intended to tell them?

Tomoyo jumped as Ruby Moon suddenly dropped the umbrella without warning, "Ruby-chan . . .?"

Ruby's lips were moving in a silent spell, and the rose pink eyes of the butterfly girl were blank. "Ruby-chan?!" Tomoyo pulled at Ruby's arm as the guardian started forward, "Ruby-chan?! Why?! What's wrong with you?! Ruby-chan!" Tomoyo looked up as Spinel and Keroberos suddenly landed heavily, and started to pad toward the circled skull. "Eriol! Eriol!!"

"Mehza ha Tozu. Mehza ha Tozu. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. MEHZA HA TOZU!"

The elderly looking humanoid, T'alas suddenly jerked as his human form jerked and imploded. Sakura crouched forward as a howling gale appeared and the dragon form of T'alas rose above them. She glanced up and gasped as a deep abyss appeared over their heads. Maduokai seemed unconcerned as the abyss grew and voices started to howl from it.

Eriol frowned as his wife started to call over to him; he almost couldn't hear her over the maelstrom of magic as it blew up a supernatural tempest around them. Tomoyo was trying to pull Ruby back, Eriol's mouth fell open with horror as he watched his moon guardian turned on his beautiful wife and slapped her hard. Tomoyo stared at Ruby with shook, as the possessed guardian continued to walk toward the magical hurricane's epicentre, the Skull.

"Touya!!" Eriol yelled, "Sakura!!" He pointed at the guardians as soon as he had their attention, "The guardians!! Something is wrong!!"

Yue and Keroberos, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun, Hei-ying . . . all five were staring at the skull intently, magic bleeding from their magic circles, first in strands, and then swiftly, torrents of magic. Eriol ran toward his guardians, "Damare!!" He yelled at them, they would die if they allowed more of their magic to bleed form the like this, "Ruby!! Spinel!!"

Touya ran to Yue and grabbed his lover. Yue's eyes were as blank as Hei-ying's were. "Yue! Snap out of it!! Yue!" Touya shook the angel hard, "Yue!!"

"Clow . . ." Yue whispered weakly, "Clow-sama is calling . . ."

"Kero-chan!! Hang in there!! Kero-chan!!" Sakura screamed as Keroberos collapsed to the floor, becoming too weak to support himself. Sakura looked up at Hei-ying whose hands were still channelling the magic, "Hei-ying!! Stop this!! Stop the spell!!"

Hei-ying's features creased into a deep frown, "Clow . . . I can't . . ." he cried out, "I can't stop this!! Clow needs me!!"

"Clow needs me!!" Ruby began to scream, tears rolling desperately from her wide, unseeing eyes, "He needs me!! Master Clow needs me!!"

"Clow needs me!!" Eriol shook Spinel urgently as the panther cowered pathetically, "Master Clow is calling, he needs me!!"

"Clow needs me!!" Yue slumped against Touya's chest and began to cry violently, shuddering all over as he pulled and scratched against Touya's clothes with grasping, clawing hands, "Touya, he needs me, Clow is calling!! He needs me!!"

"Clow needs me!!" Keroberos suddenly began to roar, tipping his head back to the stars like a wolf and howling tearfully, "He needs me!! He's calling me!! Clow needs me!!"

Sakura looked up as the howling above them got louder, the abyss was widening. T'alas passed once before it, before he dived down toward the skull in the middle of this. Sakura's emerald eyes widened as she watched the skull levitate and tip upward as if looking up. T'alas passed through it and then shot upward, diving into the abyss. The groans and the shrieks got louder and louder until they were deafening. 

Syaoran dived toward Sakura and held her tight. He didn't know what was happening but the spell was not going right, he could see it in Maduokai's features. The man was sweating a lot as he chanted; he was barely in control of this. Beside him, Sen, the manservant and Lady Asil swayed, affected heavily by what they were seeing. Sen crumpled to the ground, passing out while Asil stared upward. Her hand came up and pulled at the mask, revealing her face . . . free of make up.

Syaoran's mouth fell open, "No . . . it's not possible . . ."

Li Meilin stared up at the abyss, transfixed by what she saw.

"Mei-rin!!" Syaoran yelled as hard as he could, trying to reach her. He shook Sakura, and grabbed her chin, Sakura, "it's Meilin!!"

Sakura stared at the young woman, she'd aged, she was as old as they were, but there was no mistaking it. Meilin stood by Maduokai, staring up into the abyss of souls. "Meilin-chan!!" Sakura screamed, pushing up on her feet. "Meilin-chan!!"

Syaoran grabbed her and dragged her down again, pulling her back to Eriol and Tomoyo. The four lay close to the ground, the two men holding the women down. Tomoyo reached out and grabbed Sakura, "What's happening?!" She screamed blindly as the ground began to shake, and loose parts of it actually started to float. 

"It's too much magic!!" Eriol yelled back, motioning Touya to let go of Yue and get over to where they were. The tall boy hesitated, reluctant to leave his love, but as the magic around the skull began to crackle hotly, almost beginning to burn uncontrollably, he was beaten back by the heat. Touya crouched over his sister and Syaoran, "I don't think Maduokai is in control with this anymore . . ."

They stared up as the large green dragon; T'alas reappeared dragging two dark forms behind him. 

A look of surprise crossed over Maduokai's features as he stared at the two souls. 

Beside him, the Lady Asil was pulled forward; she began to run toward the inside of the circle and stared up as T'alas rushed down at them. Her clothes began to burn with all the magic around them, and yet she herself seemed fine. 

Asil held up her arms, unaware of the pained expression of longing she wore on her face. 

One of the dark forms belonged to Clow Reed . . . the other to her, the remaining part of her soul . . . that had been lost when Maduokai, inexperienced at this spell had stopped it prematurely . . . 

T'alas rushed at both her and the floating skull, bringing with him the two darkened souls. The skull's jaws began to widen, and deeply resonate with sounds. Sakura pushed up as one of the dark forms began to swirl around Meilin. "Meilin-chan!! Onegai!! Meilin-chan!!" She pushed up, "Syaoran, it's Meilin-chan!! We have to . . . have to help her!!"

Syaoran winced, and pushed Sakura down further, "We can't do anything!!" He yelled to her, "Not until this magic dies down!!"

"Meilin-chan!!" 

Asil opened her eyes . . . Meilin opened her eyes . . . where was she . . . this wasn't China . . . this was Tsukimine Shrine in Japan!! 

"Meilin-chan!!" Meilin spun as her name was called over to her, was that Sakura on the other side of the wall of crackling magic? She winced, as she stared at the grownups that were staring at her. 

"Hei-ying . . ."

Meilin blinked as she turned, behind her stood a man. His body seemed to fade in and out of reality as it appeared, for a moment she thought she saw a skull. This man . . . 

"Keroberos . . ." whispered the man again, his head was tilted as far back as it would without breaking his neck, "Yue . . ."

Meilin pulled her loose black hair back and stared at the man as his long black hair whipped around his face freely. He was young, barely out of his teens, perhaps in his early twenties. A pair of glasses whipped around him, attached to a small string to his large black cloak. "Who are you?!" She turned, and stared at the grownups, they looked a little like her friends didn't they? "Syaoran-kun!!" Meilin screamed, "What's happening?! Syaoran-kun!!"

". . . Saurian . . ." 

Meilin spun to face the man again; his head was slowly falling forward. His head lolled slightly, as he swayed a little. The man's clothing and body became more grounded in reality, and he didn't seem like a ghost anymore. 

"Ruby Moon . . ." he whispered. Raising his head, the man opened his eyes to reveal they were a dark almost black blue. Meilin gasped as she realised who he was. 

"Clow Reed?!" The man blinked and stared at her. His eyes were starting to loose focus as he spoke the last name.

"Spinel Sun . . ." Clow murmured, as he began to fall back, "Attend . . . your master . . ."

Meilin screamed as the magic around them crackled uncontrollably. "Mehza ha Tohu. . ." Maduokai smiled, as the fourth dragon, Mushu suddenly changed his form and crawled toward the rapidly uncontrollable sphere of magic, "Mehza ha Tohu . . ." Mushu's electricity tipped the scale of control, and all the magical creations screamed out with pain as everything suddenly crashed into synchronisation. The sphere of magic on the outside was a maelstrom of power, but inside . . .

"Ra, Tar gan Shi garra. Ra, Tar gan Shi garra." 

Inside, Clow's hair fluttered down until it moved as if blown by a gentle breeze. He stared at the girl before him. All around them, outside their little bubble of calm, was in chaos. He turned around, until he saw the chanting Maduokai. Wincing, Clow suddenly realised that this strange Chinese magician was trying to place some sort of control spell over his consciousness. It was working on the girl beside him; the girl fell under the spell, and walked willing to the magician. 

But Clow . . . the young man raised his hands, and chanted a spell. "*Release*!" His magic staff appeared in his hand, and his magic circle appeared under his feet. The magic that formed such a melody of power around him was disrupted hard. Around him, all magical creations cried out, and fell unconscious. 

Sakura gasped as her cards fluttered around them like confetti, dull and lifeless. The rain, driven away by the massing of magic, returned and quickly turned from a light drizzle to hard, painful bullets of water. Maduokai growled as he grabbed Asil, and called to his dragons. Clow was too strong.

The newly reincarnated magician stared at Maduokai with wide eyes filled with shock. 

Clow watched as the strange Chinese magician and the girl who'd stood with him got onto the massive greenish yellow dragon, and took off, followed by three other dragons of various colours. 

"Meilin-chan!!" A Japanese girl screamed, Clow spun as all the magic around him started to die away and the small group of magicians behind him stared up as the strange adult magician raced away. Clow stared at the Japanese girl screaming after 'Meilin-chan'. Behind her, two more magicians joined her, two magicians who stood in robes very much like his, and magical staffs almost exactly like his. Clow raised a hand to his sweating forehead, feeling the fever grow and make his knees feel weak. 

A young man wearing his Uncle Li Hei-ying's clothes grabbed the Japanese girl, with her very strong star induced magic flaring around her impotently. Clow swayed, who were these people? What was their connection to him?! 

A beautiful girl with purple hair ran up to the Japanese star magician, and held her as the girl continued to scream after Meilin. Stumbling, Clow looked around in the rain. Scattered around him, were dozens of magical cards, resonating with unconscious power and four dead looking creatures. One was a girl with long pink hair, and black and red butterfly wings, beside her lay a midnight blue panther with similar wings. On the other side, lay a stunningly beautiful, white haired angel and a bright golden lion with a strange helmet on. Clow staggered forward, feeling his stomach roll. Barely standing before him was another angel, the twin of the first only this time with pure black hair, and wide, feline, jade green eyes. The creature's features were shocked, but he too was loosing consciousness. Clow moved toward him as the creature lost his balance. 

Clow caught this angelic creature, and stared down at it as it lay in his arms. It gazed at him, for a moment before becoming limp, its glowing jade eyes falling dim and unseeing.

"Clow Reed . . ." the blue haired man, with the exact same staff, ran toward him. The boy knelt down beside him; mindless of the fact he was kneeling in a puddle. The rain around them seemed to get heavier and colder but that did nothing to soothe Clow's fever. His vision began to blur and contort, as the other man shook him, "Clow Reed?!"

He couldn't help it, couldn't stave off the darkness enfolding his mind any longer. Clow pitched toward him, mumbling quietly as he followed the five guardians around him into the abyss of unconsciousness.

"I'm  . . . Clow Reed . . ."   

The four dragons raced across the sea, escaping fast from the failed plan. The lord and master riding the back of the fastest, T'alas the dragon of the four winds. Maduokai stared down at the face of Li Meilin; the girl was showing emotion as she slept fitfully under the spell he'd cast over her.

The spell had been completed, she remembered who she was . . . and worse, the card mistress now knew that he had a Li family member. Clearly, by the surprise on her face and on the Li Clan Head's face, they had not realised that Maduokai had carefully taken the Li girl's skull from her grave. He sighed heavily; his plan had failed because Clow hadn't succumbed to the control spell as easily as he'd hoped. Even half out of it, Clow Reed was still a formidable magician. 

Raising his head, Maduokai stared out over the water, as he held the Li girl closely, his plan had been foiled because he'd underestimated how quickly Clow Reed would recover from being reborn. He had assumed the Clow, like any of the others he'd recreated, would be too confused to really fight the control spell he'd attempted to cast. But the magician was far to powerful, even if he'd just been reborn. Maduokai frowned, his dark eyebrows drawing together over his handsome features, he'd have to find another way of getting Clow Reed to submit to him. He glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms as he and his dragons raced back to china on the wind.

Perhaps he could use her . . . as a new bargaining option . . .

----------------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: [smiles broadly] I'm back! I'm feeling genki, I'm feeling better, I'm feeling like I'm top of the world, ma!! 

Yue: [reads through story] . . . is it just me or do I detect a slight change in writing style?

DrM: [preens]

Yue: hmmm. . . definite Lord of the Rings/Tolkien influence . . . Shakespeare . . . Jean-Paul Sartre . . . a return to more English sounding descriptions . . . [raises eyebrow] let me guess, you spent your break reading?

DrM: [grins widely] I can't help it, it . . . it all just sorta happened really. . . just wait until you see the next chapters, it's really weird actually, I'd already written up to chapter 16, and then realised that there was something wrong and so I left it and then came back and then I realised that I simply wasn't writing as good as I could, wasn't writing in the tone I wanted too because I was too scared of what people would think . . .

Yue: [nods] uh-huh . . . and the Batman gothic graphic novel thing you went into didn't influence you as well?

DrM: [just kinda sits there and grins] Do you like my new cloak?

Yue: [sighs] isn't that Clow's cloak?

DrM: [turns into a chibi and shakes head] nope, my mate Elvis made it for me 'cause I'm sucky at sewing, isn't it kewl?

Yue: [shakes head and chuckles] Well, right now you are being too genki, chibi, sickly sweet for even me . . .

DrM: [gets up onto desk, still as a chibi and waves banner] Ne, arigato anyone who has stuck with me to read this!! Arigato Clow'9-sama!! Arigato Bluegoo-sama!! You both are two of the best beta's ever!! Thank you if you review! I welcome you back to this second half of In This Tainted Soul, Find Redemption!!    


	13. Lament

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Twelve: Lament

Silence reigned heavily.

The rain was heavier still and growing heavier. 

Uncaring of the water, Eriol knelt on both knees in the puddle. His garments were getting heavier as they absorbed the rain; beside him his hat lay upturned and gathering water, and his staff lay in the deepening puddle uncared for and dull. He took deep shuddering breaths, breathing out into the cold wet air with huffing gasps of clouds of white. He stared with wide lavender grey eyes, seeming his apparent age, seeming young in his complete and utter shock.

Sakura staggered over, her dulled key hanging from the dull gold chain laced in her rose red gloves. Her honey locks became plastered to her skull as she walked in uneven steps, swaying from side to side. She stared down at her fallen guardians and her exhausted cards with emerald eyes that brimmed with the rain or with her own tears. She was becoming pale and her bottom lip trembled with her shock. Keroberos lay on the ground, his eyes stunned half open and like his fur, like the helmet he wore, his golden eyes were muted. Yue's sharp amethyst eyes suffered this fate too and it wrenched at her heart painfully to see them like this. 

Behind her, Syaoran knelt on the ground, both of his gloved hands resting on top of his sword and his forehead pressed against the hilt hard. He stared at the worn grip with unseeing chocolate brown eyes, his mind spiralling with a million and one thoughts, too much for even him. He could barely understand what had just happened, what was going on or even begin to comprehend what he was to do about it. He wasn't aware of how much he was trembling, nor of how cold he was growing. He glanced up at Sakura and then passed her to the horizon where Maduokai had disappeared with his cousin.

Brushing passed him on weakened legs, Tomoyo moved as a wraith between the slumbering guardians, her mind focusing on one objective: To rid Sakura of that dreadful, haunted look that marred her beautiful sweet face. Her video camera lay forgotten under the umbrella, on the bags as the Mistress of the Hiirawagizawa guardians stumbled toward her best friend. Tomoyo pulled her cloak off despite the heavy rain and wrapped it warmly around Sakura's shoulders. She held the other woman, rested her cheek on Sakura's shoulder and closed her eyes. 

"To-Tomoyo-chan . . ." Sakura whispered, "what . . . what just happened?"

Tomoyo did not answer and Sakura gasped as the other simply closed her eyes and began to slide to the ground. Sakura spun, coming out of her daze and caught Tomoyo, sinking to the ground with her best friend and now looked around truly.

Her brother knelt by Yue, cradling his lover's upper body in his arms protectively. Yue's eyes, like all the others were opened, half lidded and unseeing. It was disturbing to see them as if they lay dead or dying. Touya caught her eye after a long moment and tilted his head, asking of her a silent question.

Sakura smiled weakly for him, she didn't want him to worry too much about her, not with Yue so weakened. She glanced at Spinel and Ruby who'd fallen atop of one another.  

The midnight blue panther was sprawled on his front, his hind legs sticking out in an unsightly manner and Ruby was laid over him like a fallen ballet dancer in a final tragic scene. Neither looked too harmed or damaged, just very, very exhausted. Sakura swallowed and finally allowed herself to stare directly at the source of her disabling shock.

Clow Reed and Hei-ying lay entwined together, the magician – like Hei-ying when he had been reincarnated – looked young, as if he was . . . Sakura frowned, Clow had never seemed completely real to her . . . he looked real now, smaller . . . somehow, actually seeing him here made Sakura feel a little more confident and she shook off the fear and shock. 

She took off Tomoyo's cloak and wrapped it around her best friend's shoulder once more. She glanced over her shoulder, "Syaoran-kun?" She asked, her fiancé stared into space, his eyes cloudy with thought. "Syaoran?" She asked of him louder this time. 

It startled him and he met her eye at last. 

He looked . . . confused, more so than she had ever seen him before. 

"We need to get out of the rain . . ." Sakura said clearly, the rain was now pouring down so hard it began to sting bare skin and bounce off the floor. It looked to get heavier soon and the clouds above their heads rumbled darkly. Night was setting in and soon it would get very cold. 

"We need to get out of the rain now." She said again, making her voice louder. Syaoran stared at her for but a moment longer before he stirred and some of his fierce protectiveness came back. "You . . ."

"Never mind me!" Sakura threw her hand out toward Eriol, "Get him up! We need to get the guardians up; we need to get them out of the rain!" 

At the sound of her voice, Touya glanced at Hei-ying then at Yue. Of one he was master and the other was master of his heart. He chose to pick up Yue first and took him over to the cover of the giant cherry tree. It was sort of dry under there; certainly the rain did not fall there as hard as it did elsewhere. He glanced at the softly glowing tree and pressed a hand against it. 

"Please . . ." he asked quietly, "Please take care of him, revitalise him a little . . ."

The tree glowed benevolently and Touya stroked his hand down Yue's cheek quickly before he stood and ran back into the rain. He sprinted across the puddles, splashing through their growing depths. He got to his sister's side and stooped over to pick up Tomoyo. Sakura smiled at him wanly, her face still pale as she tucked one more stray lock of hair back from Tomoyo's face. 

As Touya ran over to the tree with Tomoyo, Syaoran got to Eriol's side and laid his hand on his shoulder. "Eriol . . ." The boy was ashen, his eyes were wide as he stared at what must have felt like his own body. 

Clow Reed, unlike the guardians, was not stunned with his eyes open. He lay slumbering on his front, his glasses attached to a thin black string lying a little way from him, gathering tiny lakes of water on their curved surfaces. 

"Clow . . ." Eriol whispered and closed his eyes, hanging his head. His own glasses slipped off and only by Syaoran's lightning quick reflexes were they saved from being smashed on the hard ground. "It's really him . . . I . . ." Eriol shook his head, "What on earth is that mad man up to . . . what did he want with . . ." Eriol's head snapped up as something occurred to him and he looked at Syaoran, "Hei-ying and Clow . . . we have two . . . where is . . ." he looked around, thoughtfully, his wits beginning to return to him. Syaoran quickly caught his meaning and stared to look around for the so-called manservant, Sen.

A little way off, the old man lay.

Eriol struggled to get to his feet, pausing only to check on his guardians. Touya returned a third time and hefted Ruby into his arms. He glanced at Syaoran; "help me carry the cats later." He paused to look at Hei-ying and frowned. "Then we'll get those two."

Syaoran nodded sharply and turned to look at Eriol as the other jogged across to where Sen was lying. 

Eriol stooped and put a hand on the old man's shoulder, the mask lay beside him, shattered. 

Pausing hesitantly, not entirely sure he wanted to know; Eriol shook the man once and was rewarded with a low groan that confirmed that the man was not dead. Drawing a bracing breath, he then rolled the old man over and cleared away some of the raggedy, tangled grey hair. Bleeding from where the mask had been forced upon him, the unmistakably kind features of Marcibay Hilligans were slackened. It hurt Eriol, deeply, forcing tears to his eyes to see this kind man so injured. He bit his lip as his eyes prickled and stung him as he tried not to cry powerlessly. 

Marcibay's breathing was shallow and the bloodied foam that frothed at the corner of the elderly man's mouth had nothing to do with any spell that had been put upon him. Eriol felt for a pulse and found it to be weakened and erratic. He groaned quietly as he sank to sit by the man, glancing over at his former self and his friends helplessly. 

Touya caught his look and began to run over.

The young man was a good doctor; there was no denying it . . . but he could never be so good as to ward off Death when it came to a man as old as Hilligans. 

"This rain is unnatural."

Sakura glanced up at Syaoran's profile as they all sat – or lay in most cases – under the cherry tree. They were as warm as they could make themselves; the cards were not yet ready to awaken, although they had regained their colour now. They huddled under Sakura's cloak as she sat, leaning against Syaoran. She'd been dozing in and out for the last hour. Eriol sat with his wife lying on his lap, his hand threaded in her hair. He sat against Spinel and with Ruby curled around his feet, lying her head on his chins. Keroberos snored quietly from his place, curled around Sakura with his heavy, warm head resting in her lap. 

His long tail trailed away and wrapped tightly around Yue's wrist.

Touya had both of Clow's angels sat either side of him, Hei-ying was leant against his shoulder and Yue was slightly closer, his face half pressed against Touya's chest. Touya wrapped one arm around Yue's shoulder, while he held Hei-ying's right hand. Hei-ying's left hand clutched at him, as if the dark angel was trapped within a nightmare. Indeed, every so often a shadow would pass over the dark angel's features and he would moan quietly. 

At least they had all closed their eyes now and looked like they were merely sleeping and not dead as they appeared so soon after the . . . Sakura frowned, what could she call it? It was not an attack, and yet it was malicious. She shook her head and glanced over at the latest members of their gathered group. Just between Syaoran and Eriol, Clow Reed and Marcibay Hilligans lay, propped against the cherry tree.

It reminded her of a vision she'd once had, where she'd awoken in Clow's garden and found him and the guardians napping under the tree. 

She licked her lips nervously, and dipped her head back down again, taking comfort from the warmth that Syaoran provided with his very presence. She barely heard Eriol's answer as he replied to Syaoran. 

A little while later, she felt a movement under her hand and heard a low growl. Sakura's emerald eyes fluttered open and she looked down at her sun guardian. Keroberos opened his eyes weakly and looked around as if he was seasick. "How do you feel?" She asked quietly as Syaoran had dropped off to sleep.

"Not good . . . but well enough to get out of here . . ." he looked around, "How long?"

"Two hours . . ." answered Touya softly, he shifted and glanced at Hei-ying. The dark angel's eyes had come open a while ago but he could have been sure if the angel was aware of anything or not. Hei-ying blinked once, again and then a third time before he looked at Touya with any sort of recognition. "Where . . ." he whispered hoarsely and frowned deeply, "the spell . . . it was wrong . . . I . . ."

"Hush . . ." Touya moved his shoulder a little; it was sore and cramped from not moving much. He glanced at Yue briefly; the younger angel still slept deeply, and then turned his attention back on Hei-ying. "Can you fly?"

"I'm not sure I could walk . . ." Hei-ying muttered as he sat up straighter. He frowned for a moment before rocking forward onto his knees. He hissed quietly as he pressed on a bruise and then forced himself up. He laid a hand on the tree trunk to steady himself before he nodded, "I'm all right . . ." he nodded to Touya, "we should leave this place and retreat . . ."

Spinel shifted slightly and groaned. He opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. A hand lay just in front of his nose, and its owner wore a strange but familiar smell. He frowned and looked up; the delicate and pale features of Clow Reed surprised him and reminded him. 

"I thought it wasn't real . . ." he muttered to himself as he felt the heavy weight leaning against his body move and turn. Eriol lifted a hand and patted Spinel heavily on the head, "How are you feeling, old friend?"

"I'm feeling old . . ." Spinel huffed as he struggled to stand, "Ruby?"

A low groan from her reassured him as his sister struggled to get up of her own right. Hei-ying paced over, his gait slow as he moved. He was careful not to step on anyone or anything. He paused though, to glance down at the slumbering bodies of Clow and Hilligans. Again the shadow passed over his eyes and be it cold or fear, a shudder wracked his shoulders. He shook his head quietly and continued his way over to help Ruby get up.

 A yawn caught Touya's attention and he looked down.

A pale hand trembled as it rose and rubbed against Yue's reddened eyes. The white angel pushed away from Touya weakly and tried to sit up. "Easy . . ." Touya murmured reassuringly. "You've had quite a shock to your system . . ."

"Sakura . . ." Yue shook his head as he tried to speak, though his voice felt like it was coming though three layers of sand paper. He swallowed hard, even though that hurt. "Is she . . . Sakura?"

"It's okay, Yue . . ." Sakura called over to him quietly, her emerald eyes filled with concern for him and for his brother. "I'm okay, take care of yourself . . ."

Yue winced at this and raised his pounding head to look at Touya. The sound of heavy rain began to filter back into his senses, "To-ya . . ."

"You're fine . . . and so is Keroberos . . ."

"Hei-ying?"

"I am fine as well." Hei-ying called over from where he was helping Ruby Moon to stand. "However I think it's time you got up, Yue . . . our masters cannot stand out in the rain and wait for us to gather our wits any longer . . ."

Yue frowned and pressed his forehead against Touya's chest, hoping to ease the pain. Taking a deep breath, he pushed away from Touya and began to force himself onto his feet.  

Soon, slowly, but surely, all the guardians were on their feet and helping their masters up. Tomoyo, Hilligans and Clow Reed were still fast asleep though, and Tomoyo seemed to be becoming feverish. Eriol put his hand on her forehead and frowned, he directed some cool magic to his hand and glanced up. "Sakura . . ."

"I know, we'll have to use the Float card for now . . ." she glanced at the cards, "or maybe it would be a better idea to use Windy . . . it might get them back sooner." 

"Use the Windy and the Float . . ." Keroberos said, "then we guardians will fly with them and make sure that they get there safely." 

He glanced at Hei-ying, waiting for maybe a disdaining look or a disagreement but found none. 

Sakura nodded, "good idea . . ." she called out her staff and threw up the windy and the float, "Windy, help the Float card carry our friends back to our homes! Release!!"

The large door creaked open, but he did not stir from his watch post.

Smooth hands touched his shoulder and his cheek while soft lips ghosted over his rough cheek. "How are you feeling?" He asked, tearing his eyes from the sight before him for a good moment. 

"I'm fine . . ." Tomoyo reassured her husband; she stared at Clow and moved to sit on his bed. "And you?"

". . . shocked. Surprised . . ." Eriol admitted, he pulled his glasses from his eyes and rubbed his hand against them tiredly. "And afraid, mortally afraid. This is Clow reed . . ." he motioned the slumbering magician before him, "In the room next door, Hei-ying, Clow reed's worst mistake ever, the room downstairs next to ours, Marcibay Hilligans . . . what the hell did Maduokai want with them? Li Meilin?" He looked at her searching, though he knew she held no answers merely warm comfort and sighed heavily. "I don't understand it . . ." he spoke with a rueful tone, "there was a time when I thought I knew everything . . . my love," he reached out and held her offered hand, "I'm afraid I know nothing. The future is too dark for me." 

There was a quiet moan from the bed, and Clow shifted in his sleep. 

Tomoyo squeezed Eriol's hand as his eyes went back to stare at the slumbering man beside them. She watched her husband's eyes, as his thoughts rolled and crashed into one another unchecked. He was trying to think of why Maduokai would resurrect these people, what gains he could gather from them. Tomoyo could do nothing for her husband but sit with him and listen to his ideas. Her thoughts went to the other people in the house. Eriol's shock was one of many a reaction. Downstairs, in one of the rooms Syaoran had taken to as a training room, the youngLi Clan head practiced endlessly. It was his form of meditation; he practiced long and hard, refusing food and company with the same stony silence. Sakura didn't like it, but she respected it. It was Syaoran's reaction after all, to withdraw until he could make sense. Sakura was trying to hold things together for herself in the meantime. She checked over her cards and her guardians with the worry of a mother, she was a good mistress and soon, card and guard alike were already showing signs of regaining their full strengths.

It had been three days since the incident with Maduokai.

Touya looked in on Yue mostly, but studied long into the night with Hei-ying as they searched for a possible reason. 

Yet study was not all that they were doing . . .

Touya glanced over from the desk.

Hei-ying was standing by the window, his brow furrowed deep in thought, his thin lips pressed into a single hard line. 

"Are you frightened of him?" Touya asked, returning to his book. He was careful to keep his tone from mockery and from pity. True, he was afraid for Hei-ying. They had no idea how the guardian would behave now. His personality had been growing stronger, but the arrival of Clow had made Hei-ying withdraw. Jade eyes seemed cold where they had been beginning to show warmth, hands that were nimble and quick, admired for their finesse, now seemed to clutch and scratch. Hei-ying's hands seemed to turn into claws, ready to strike. He stared out of the window long and hard for hours at a stretch, hideous thoughts appearing and disappearing.

Touya didn't like it, didn't like the silence that now descended from Hei-ying. The guardian looked mean now, cold and his master suspected that few others had really noticed. Keroberos had, he narrowed his eyes during meals when Hei-ying made a cold comment or ignored a question, his lips curled angrily when Hei-ying waved off concern with a miserable excuse and a cold smile.

That was what disturbed Touya more, the cold smiles. 

They never reached Hei-ying's eyes anymore; even Yue was beginning to do double takes. Yue, who was more than a little blind when it came to his family, would glance at Hei-ying and frown after he left. Later, Yukito would raise the subject. The snow rabbit was more suspicious of Hei-ying, worried for him. Like Yue, he had no memories of Hei-ying as he was before the attack that separated Yue and Yukito from each other.

Now, the dark angel was retreating into his own mind and Touya suspected that Hei-ying was venturing into a dark abyss with no light to guide him.

"I fear no mortal man."

Touya blinked out of his thoughts, Hei-ying had replied to his question ten minutes after it had been posed. The dark angel folded his arms across his chest and a shadow fell over his eyes as if he was locked in a memory. 

"I've killed magicians before, they've bled as red as any little human . . ." Hei-ying whispered, truly not aware of what he was speaking aloud. Touya stood from his seat and carefully began to walk toward Hei-ying not willing to startle him while his thoughts were held so darkly. Hei-ying's shoulders began to tremble slightly as if he was suppressing a deep rage. His face began to turn into a horrible expression; so horrible Touya couldn't find any real words to explain it. Only that it made Touya feel cold even to look upon it in the reflection of the window. Hei-ying's eyes were focus, very focused. It made Touya understand what Keroberos had meant by Hei-ying's sharp mind, he could almost imagining how fast Hei-ying's mind was working. Far too fast for any being, even if they had been created to think that rapidly. Everyone needed time to examine a thought, Hei-ying had never been giving the luxury of thinking in long winding circles, never to get lost in his own mind and think about something of little consequence. 

Now, as Touya moved not too quietly behind him, the master could see his guardian . . . perhaps, he imagined, as Hei-ying had been as a young creation when his madness first came to be. The young master shook his head as he slowly reached out and touched Hei-ying's shoulder to break him out of his dark thoughts. 

The dark angel jerked and spun, and for a moment, Touya saw a spark of insane rage, the sheen of furious yet lost tears on Hei-ying's widened jade eyes. The angel's arms were held out, his hands held tightly, painfully, like claws as if he was going to scratch and stab at Touya with his fingernails. 

And then it passed.

Hei-ying's shoulders relaxed, his mouth fell open slightly and his hands flexed. The pent up rage in his eyes stepped back, not gone, but stepped back into the shadows and the guardian that Touya recognised returned. Then Hei-ying seemed to grow very weary, he stepped back, shuffling almost and looked away from Touya. He swallowed and shook his head, muttered something very quietly to himself and glanced out the window. Touya stepped forward and glanced out, the day was cool, not too warm and slightly clouded over. A storm was coming, a rainstorm by the feel of it and it felt like it was going to be a very long one.

"Feel like taking a walk?" He asked quietly, "We can walk and talk about it . . ." he nodded, as Hei-ying looked up and out the window, "there's a storm coming, it might be our last chance for the next few days . . ."

"No . . ." Hei-ying dipped his head again and sank into the window seat. He leaned his forehead against the glass and stared out with sorrow filled jade eyes. "No walks . . . he always made it worse with his walks . . ." he trailed off into an almost silent mutter, and Touya only caught something about Clow asking for Hei-ying's forgiveness. He glanced at the desk, it was nearly heaving with books and research and certainly Maduokai's actions required their attention but he was Hei-ying's master now and his creation needed him.

"Fine then, no walks. Start talking." Touya nodded and sat down beside Hei-ying on the window seat. The guardian's head snapped up and stared at him with wide jade eyes, his mouth working but no words coming out. Finally Hei-ying swallowed and closed his mouth, when he opened it again, his wits had been gathered and the old cool returned. "I'm sorry, master . . . here I am lost in daydreams when we should be working." He stood and made as if he was going to the desk, but Touya was the quicker and grabbed him by the wrist. 

The dark angel became stock-still and Touya thought that his hand was too cold.

Hei-ying's head dropped forward, his black shiny hair hiding his eyes from view as he hissed quietly, darkly, "Do you bleed red as well . . .?"

Touya's dark blue eyes widened.

". . . let me go . . ."

Hei-ying's voice was icy, cold . . . deadly. Touya squeezed his wrist slightly, willing some of his magic to Hei-ying, to rouse him from this waking nightmare. At this, Hei-ying turned his head slightly. He glared at Touya, manically from under his fringe and the young master was reminded of Yue, when the first strike of insanity brought about by Kyree began to show. He frowned and did not let go, he couldn't let go of Hei-ying, wouldn't let him fall too deep into his waking nightmare.

"You think of him . . ." hissed the rage-filled creature before him now, the Hei-ying that once was. "Even now as we are alone together!" The dark angel turned toward him, speaking words he had only ever thought but never spoke. "While the brat slumbers and that over grown house-cat stuffs himself in the kitchen, you think of them, what fun you can have with them! When you should be remembering me . . . I am your lover, you took me, you always loved me!"

Touya stared at him, staying silent as Hei-ying drew back his lips and snarled at him.

"I killed for you; I did everything in my power to ensure you never left me . . . I protected you when others wanted to part us! And now . . ." tears, angry tears, fierce, burning tears welled up in Hei-ying's eyes as he glared and he spat at Touya. "Now you think of him, when he's not even of age! We were together alone for ten years! I excused you when that house cat came; I knew you could never love him as you did me . . . but then you created that brat! That . . . that . . . thing, to look like me, that was like me . . ." Hei-ying began to tremble and tried to wrench his hand from Touya's, "when you ruffle his hair playfully, does he smell like me?! When you hold him on your knee, do you wonder if he'll ride you like I did?! What . . ." Hei-ying's tears finally fell, and the anger seemed to run from him. "You once asked me to forgive you . . . that everything had been a mistake . . ." the dark angel swallowed and sank to the floor as if his knees had turned to jelly, he raised his free trembling hand and pressed it against his eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears. "Forgive you for what . . .? How could it all have been a mistake when it felt so good to me? What can a mere creation do to forgive its master? I've never had any power over you . . . or still I would be the only one in your bed, and Yue would be nothing but a word on a page hidden away in your library . . ." he shook his head slowly, "oh Clow . . . why do you hurt me? Why tear my heart so, when I have done nothing but love you as you asked?" He looked up at Touya with eyes trapped in the past, "why create me, fuck me, leave me, seal me, forget about me but yet never let me go? You kill me with your words, you brand me with your touch . . . please, Clow . . . let me go . . ."

"I'm not Clow." 

Hei-ying raised his head as Touya spoke quietly, sliding off the seat to join his guardian on the floor. He moved his hand down Hei-ying's wrist until he could hold Hei-ying's hand lightly. 

"I'm not Clow Reed, I am Kinomoto Touya . . . you are not in the Reed Mansion; you are in the Tsukimine Mansion. I don't ask for your forgiveness . . . I'll never ask for pity . . . I only ask for you to wake up . . ." he stared at Hei-ying as the angel's bewilderment began to show, "can you hear me, Hei-ying?"

Tired eyes stared at him though a pale face, Hei-ying looked like he was about to throw up. 

"I think . . ." he whispered quietly, "I think I am going to loose my mind again . . ." he raised his free hand and touched Touya's face, smiling ruefully. "But at least that answers my question . . . so this is sanity," he looked at his trembling hands and gave a tragic laughing sob, both bitter and cold at the same time, "I care little for it."

And so, the rainstorm came.

Hilligans took a turn for the worse as he slept, getting weaker and weaker and he was getting beyond the skills of even Touya. They thought briefly of taking the old man to the hospital, but events moved faster for them than they could even predict. The old man died quite suddenly one afternoon, not quite alone but with one person by his side. 

They couldn't bury him until the rains passed on or lightened for a bit. Soon, Eriol gave up on waiting for the rains to change and with the aid of Sakura and Touya cast a spell over the mansion. The solid rain that had been falling ceased for half a day, enough time for Yukito and Touya to dig a decent grave and for Eriol to fashion a stone to mark the, hopefully, final resting place of the old man who'd taken part in more than any of them could imagine. 

The day wore on, and by the late evening as they held the small service; the sky was dull and overcast with full heavy clouds. Eriol said a few words as his wife laid flowers down for the man she'd never had the chance to thank for the beautiful gardens she'd enjoyed not only here, but in the original lands around the Reed Mansion. 

Spinel and Keroberos sat sombrely at the heels of their masters, while their sister and brother stood behind them. Yukito had already said a private good-bye so Yue could stand here in silent contemplation of a man he'd never met yet had always known of. Sakura cried a little, she couldn't understand why Maduokai had been so cruel to this old man. Eriol's mourning was palatable, and she couldn't help but wonder what Clow's reaction would be to know that his best friend had died once more and he couldn't be there for this second burial.

Syaoran stood behind her silently; ready to help her if she needed him. He glanced up at Touya and noticed with a little surprise that he seemed to be more concerned about Hei-ying for once rather than the effect this was having on his lover. Hei-ying stood by Touya's side, pale and sickly looking as he had been looking for the last week. 

It seemed that Hilligans' death had shaken the guardian deeply. The brewing darkness Syaoran thought he'd seen in the jade eyes seemed to have been beaten back or withered away. Hilligans and Hei-ying had known each other; Hei-ying had killed him the first time and Hilligans had died this time with only Hei-ying in his attendance. 

There was no foul play, Hei-ying had not killed him again, and this they were sure off. Against Sakura's wishes, Eriol and Syaoran had pressed Touya just to double check. It seemed that Hilligans had simply passed away, just as Hei-ying had reported it.

The dark angel stood still as the others filtered past the grave, murmuring last goodbyes and thanks. He stayed by the old man's grave until the spell finally wore off and the rain came again. He stayed until dinner came and went, until his master; Touya came out with an umbrella and stood with him in silence. Together, they stayed until nighttime came and it became too dark to see the stone and the words it bore.

Only then did the dark angel finally speak his first words since reporting the man dead.

"He pitied me."

Touya blinked out of his own random thoughts and glanced over at his guardian, fairly unsure if the angel had spoken or not. Hei-ying's profile was darkened and only the slight glow of his jade eyes reminded Touya that he was not a shadow. 

"He woke up briefly while I was passing and called out . . . I didn't want to be there, I didn't want to show myself to him . . . I killed him the first time, I didn't want my face to the only one he saw before death . . . I would have left, fetched you but he only laughed and said that it would be too late." 

Touya raised his hand and closed his eyes, murmuring a little spell Hei-ying had taught him. An orb of softly glowing blue magic appeared there and illuminated the two under the umbrella, twinkling quietly off the rain as it fell all around them.

Hei-ying smiled sadly as he continued to stare at the grave as if darkness had not befallen them. 

"He asked me what had happened to me . . . how I had become this way? 'Way?' I said to him as I stepped closer, he told me I looked like I should have . . . like I was finally right in the head . . ." Hei-ying laughed, a hollow sad sound that hurt even stoic Touya's heart. "He called me 'sane' just as I feel I'm beginning to loose that precious thing again . . ."

Touya glanced at the grave again then to Hei-ying, "why did he pity you?"

"I think he knew . . . maybe he watched . . ." Hei-ying mumbled, "peeking from the other side . . . thought ghosts were not allowed to haunt the living . . ." he tilted his head, "then again, what am I doing?"

"Hei-ying . . ." Touya said quietly but firmly, trying to tie down the being's wandering attention, "why did he pity you?"

The dark angel smiled again, his eyes becoming slightly glassy. The angel's hair hung damply over his forehead, drips of water clinging to the sleek black strands, pale forehead and sharp eyebrows. His eyelashes were beading with water, but whether it was with tears or rain, it didn't seem to matter. "Did you know when Clow's parents died; he ignored his family and ran away?" Hei-ying knelt, coming out of the protection of the umbrella. "He asked me if Clow had left me . . ." he placed a hand onto the newly turned earth and repeated his answer quietly, "I only wished he had . . ." 

He straightened and stood, still out of the protection of the umbrella and let the rain wash him. He turned his eyes upward and stared hard at the clouds, "He pitied me, Touya . . . because I had to live with Clow for a very long time . . ."

The other tilted his head at the vague reference and stared at Hei-ying. The angel was weak and tired, mortally so. As a magical creation, Hei-ying seemed washed out again, his power and his beauty withering with the weight of existence. But still behind this weariness, Hei-ying seemed to carry a darkness in him, rolling and raging impotently at the weakness of his body.

Touya sighed and glanced down at his watch, time was rolling onto midnight. He looked up at the house and saw the front doors were coming open, light spilled from the windows in the main hall as the others got ready to come and fetch them from the body drenching rain. 

He turned to Hei-ying again, and found the angel pressing a hand against Hilligans' gravestone and murmuring softly. He stepped closer and only caught the last few muttered words of: " . . . have no idea of how I envy you . . ."

After that, some of the life seemed to come back to Hei-ying, if only a gloss of it. He straightened and motioned Touya forward. The master sighed and started back to the mansion, pausing only to wait for Hei-ying to catch up so they could walk under the umbrella together. 

As they got closer, Touya saw Hei-ying smile to himself and murmur something quietly. When they got to the steps and Ruby Moon let them in, Hei-ying stopped outside and stared up. His attention was caught on the one lit room on the fourth floor. Touya shook his head at Ruby and motioned her away as he stepped outside again and stood with his guardian. They stood in the rain together for a long time, the rain pelting them hard and bouncing off the umbrella loudly as Touya lofted it at least a little over them. 

It took a moment for Touya to realise which window he was gazing at. It was the room in which Clow Reed continued to dream in.

"Touya . . ." Hei-ying's voice was quietly amused, as if Hei-ying was sharing a little personal joke with him. The young magician looked at him, a single dark, bushy eyebrow raised in asking. Hei-ying's eyes didn't stray from the window. 

". . . don't let me live my life again."

Blinking slowly, Touya stared at Hei-ying. The angel's previous confidence was gone again. And before Touya now stood an elderly sounding creation who'd seen enough of life, the ever-young look of him wore poorly almost like torture. Horribly cruel to trap such an old and exhausted spirit in the body of one so young. Determined to end Hei-ying's laments, Touya shook his head, "I won't let it happen again, should Clow even try to . . . call me, day or night call to me . . ."

Hei-ying smiled ruefully, his eyes never leaving window above him as they stood under the heavy, cold rain. "My dear brother has such a strong lover . . ." Murmured the angel sagely, causing Touya started slightly as Hei-ying looped his arm under Touya's umbrella holding arm, linking their elbows. He raised his other hand and patted Touya's clasped hand lightly as he moved them forward again. Touya stepped into the warm hall and looked back as Hei-ying paused on the threshold, staring out abandoned into the darkness as it rumbled darkly, "how old I suddenly feel . . ." he whispered to the darkness, sounding perhaps a little surprised. Touya moved closer, but stayed within the mansion. He looked at the angel's eyes, sad jade eyes that knew entirely too much. His voice was aged, creaking almost under the weight of remembrance and finally Touya thought he recognised this Hei-ying.

He'd seen this worn out, tired dark angel before. He reached out and tried to touch Hei-ying's shoulder but the shadowy angel was walking back to the darkness and the rain again.   

"Hei-ying?"

His guardian glanced over his shoulder and smiled ruefully to Touya as he stood just outside of the warmth of the mansion. "Now I am complete . . . I remember my own death . . ." Hei-ying's head tilted back further and stared at the sky, his bare feet slowing to a stop as Hei-ying whispered again, "how old I suddenly feel . . ." 

----------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

Hei-ying: can you not give me a moment of happiness?!

DrM: Nope, especially since old Clow is back!

Clow: [grins brightly]

Hei-ying: [sighs] it's so unfair.

DrM: the definition of unfair is . . .[gulps and looks at readers nervously] Me going on holiday for two weeks? Meaning I'll miss a couple of updates. . . maybe . . .

Hei-ying: [snorts] bah, nobody will miss you . . .

DrM: [frowns at Hei-ying] meanie . . . Anyway, I'll miss them, especially since I won't be able to check reviews for ages . . . but, [winks] don't let that put you off review please!! Thank you for reading!! HAVE A VERY MERRY (AND PIPPIN) CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

Hei-ying: yeah, have a REALLY merry Christmas . . . while I SUFFER!!

DrM: [folds arms] You know, in my orginal story [SHAMELESS PLUG Story I hope one day to get published] You are such a Happier person . . .

Hei-ying: [sighs] ho. . . ho. . . ho.


	14. Silence

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Thirteen: Silence

[A/N: *rubs Tush* Owww… *stares meaningfully at Tam Chronin and Nakuru and SPISMN* Thank you for that… Ahem… Well, I am the first to admit, it has been a damn long time… a VERY long time since I last updated… and somehow I doubt that many people who started reading this oh-so-long-ago are still with me… if you are, I am really impressed… I wouldn't stay with me if I had left myself in WIP hell… Anyway, here be the next part. My Thanks to Clow'd9 and Bluegoo for they are patient when dealing with me and my stories. Me grammatical inconsistencies two. ANd mey oarfull splellinge mustakes. Thank you for putting up with me and I promise to cook for you Blue, and to rant with you, Clow'd9. well, it's been a while so … I present to you …]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . . 

Recap: [For those of you who have forgotten what happened before…]

In the cold of winter; Clow Reed's darkest angel, the star guardian known only as Hei-ying, returned from his grave. At the same time it was discovered that Clow Reed and his dearest friend, Marcibay Hilligans, had also mysteriously vanished from their final resting places. How and why remained unknown until it became increasingly clear Hei-ying had not returned of his free will. While Yue was overjoyed by the prospect of giving his elder brother a second chance in life, Keroberos remained deeply suspicious of the broken angel. To save the waning life of Hei-ying, Touya agreed to allow Hei-ying to become his guardian so that Touya could learn to be a true magician and Hei-ying could have a purpose in life. 

While Hei-ying works hard to become a good guardian for Touya, there are many in the household who do not believe that Hei-ying can ever fully redeem himself. Yuki and Yue meanwhile have their own complications, while they agree on some topics they disagree on others … 

Meanwhile the Magicians have larger problems to contend with. 

Madoukai Kuei, a mysterious magician from China, claimed he could help them to discover the whereabouts of Clow Reed. He brought with him two mortal servents, four magical creations and a skull. 

In a magic spell that used much of Sakura's magic and almost drove all of the guardian insane, Maduokai certainly managed to find Clow Reed.

He brought the powerful magician to life, and revealed that he had also kidnapped Syaoran's long-dead cousin, Meilin, from her grave. 

Now the Cardcaptor and her friends are left with three mysteries on their hands…

… Why has Maduokai done this? To what end do he wish to use Clow Reed's powers? And why does he have Meilin? 

… What will happen when Clow Reed awakens from his slumber?

… and for how long can they keep Clow and Hei-ying from driving each other insane again? 

---- 

In this Tainted Soul … Find Redemption…

Part Thirteen: Silence

"So . . . It really was Mei-rin we saw . . ."

Sakura grasped her hands in her lap together tightly, anger welling up in her heart as Syaoran spoke. In the days just after the Incident with Maduokai, he'd received a call from his mother in China, confirming that Meilin's grave had been disturbed, that her skull was missing after all. Yulan noted with some disgust as well that the rising of Clow from the grave seemed to have had a wide spread effect as well. 

The bones of Meilin's murderer, the indescribably foul dragon Saurian, had begun to vibrate and rattle at the bottom of the Li Clan's famous Carp pond. 

Syaoran sank down beside Sakura and rested his hand on her. He was angry too, very angry but he was also exhausted. The burial of Hilligans was something that had affected him profoundly and he had begun to wonder if the frailty of the old man, whom Eriol had described as a very stout hearted man, a very strong man when Clow had known him, was going to affect Meilin as well. He couldn't bear to imagine that she was lying, dying somewhere all over again and he wouldn't be able to help her in any way.

He glanced to the window; Touya had left before he'd gotten off the phone.

At his glance, Spinel looked back from the window seat and tilted his head; Master Kinomoto went to fetch his guardian from the cold . . .

Keroberos made a quiet rumbling noise from where he lay by the fireside but said nothing. 

Since the burial of Marcibay Hilligans and after they had eaten a sombre dinner and received a phone call from China, the magicians and their guardians had gathered in the downstairs study to think and discuss the events of the past two weeks. 

The effect of Clow Reed's presence dominated much of their thoughts yet they didn't speak of him, they were too afraid to contemplate what effect it would have on Hei-ying and the guardians seemed to want to mull it over. They were all too deep in thought about what it meant to them. 

The Clow Reed they'd brought home was not exactly the same as the man they were used to seeing in visions and the like. After Touya had done a examination, it transpired that Clow's body was between the ages of twenty to twenty five. This was because, Eriol explained, that all magicians' physical ages stayed where their magic peaked. And unless they allowed some of that skill to ebb away, some would be forever kept at that age. Hence why Eriol was a ten year old for so long, and why Sakura though much older now, still had the youthful appearance of a sixteen year old. Clow's magic skill had peaked when he was twenty-three, a few years after he'd created the cards and Hei-ying, but before he'd created Keroberos and Yue.

After their creation he'd begun to allow his magic to ebb away, whether consciously or not, thus he seemed to age very slowly, but never beyond the age of fifty as Keroberos and Yue remembered him being by the time Clow announced his imminent and abrupt death. 

A riddle within a riddle . . . with Clow's memory most likely to be like Hei-ying's, almost completely blank, what reason would Maduokai bring back one of the most powerful magicians in the world when it would take him years, maybe even a century to teach him the techniques need to create the cards . . . even if the cards were his main objective, in which case why not just steal them like Kyree had attempted to? But then, if he knew of Kyree's attempt then he would surely realise that if the reincarnation of Clow reed could not take the cards from the card mistress, then what hope did he have?

A heavy silence fell upon the group as they tried to work out this riddle in their own minds.

Eriol glanced over at the window and then at his wife. She was pouring tea into some delicately looking, but hardy china cups. They were something he'd given her, Sakura-blossom decorated cups, part of a similar tea set. She brushed a lock of her long hair back; a troublesome lock that escaped her bun of elegantly set hair. The very sight of her brought a smile to his face and reassured him again. 

As she picked up a cup and brought it over to Sakura, she caught his look and smiled warmly at him. "I think . . ." she said quietly, "Sakura-chan and I should go check on Clow again . . . Ruby-chan should wait with Spinel-san by the door for Kinomoto-san then go to bed, perhaps Kero-chan should see Yue-san off to rest as well . . ." She nodded toward the window, "We haven't seen much of the sun or the moon for a few days . . . I should think you are all feeling a little tired . . ."

Yue pursed his lips and glanced at his elder brother, Keroberos was snoring not so quietly in front of the roaring fire now. Ruby yawned and got up as Spinel pranced a little quickly from the window seat. "I think I agree . . ." Spinel glanced at his brethren, "You know she's right, what use are we in this exhausted state . . .?"

Eriol nodded his agreement, "Syaoran and I shall wait up for your brother, Sakura-chan." He nodded to her, "And in the morning, may I suggest we have a meeting to discuss our next moves . . ."

The card mistress didn't answer for a long moment, staring into her teacup lost in thought. Yue glanced at her as he passed her seat and walked over to the fireplace. He nudged Keroberos with his foot and hissed at him to wake up, while Syaoran rested his hand on her knee and shook it slightly. "Sakura?"

"I won't give up . . ." Sakura said quietly, looking up from her cup into his eyes. "Meilin-chan was precious to me; she did a lot to help me when I needed her . . . more than that, she is my friend. I'll never give up . . ."

Syaoran could help but smile a little at her determination.

"I know."

"Never." Sakura nodded determinedly, "Everything will be okay, for sure this time!" 

Just as Eriol found his reassurance in Tomoyo's warm smiles, Syaoran found his hope in Sakura's emerald eyes. For a moment, all around him was forgotten and the usually reserved Little Wolf leant forward and kissed Sakura urgently on the lips. 

Yue discreetly waved his hand and levitated the cup Sakura was holding out of her hand so she wouldn't spill any hot tea on herself as her fiancé surprised her. Her emerald eyes widened at first, then began to shimmer with unshed tears. Eriol glanced up as his wife sat on the arm of his chair and watched the unusual display of emotion with a secret smile.

"I bet you wish you had your camera . . ." Eriol whispered teasingly.

Tomoyo simply smiled and whispered back, "Sometimes, just memories are strong enough to last forever . . ."

**

Yukito glanced about as he came around again.

He was lying in a steaming hot bath with no memory of how he got there. He sighed and closed his eyes again as he reasoned that Yue must have fallen asleep and given over control back to him. Indeed, the angel's favourite hairbrush sat on the closed lid of the toilet, along with a closed book, Yukito's own glasses and a tall glass of . . . he reached over and picked up the chilled glass, sipping from it gingerly. Yue didn't often drink, and the things they liked were very much different. He winced at the bitter taste of lemon and put the glass back down again. Well, at least he could enjoy the bath and wash away the heavy troubles that seemed to weigh down his shoulders. 

He wondered if Touya was still standing outside in the rain with Hei-ying. 

His lover had been very concerned lately about Hei-ying's mental health. He'd spoken to Yue and to Yukito about it while they lay in bed. They were too preoccupied to make love, Yue with Clow upstairs, Touya with Hei-ying's mind and Yukito with the weight of problems on them all. 

The hot bath did a lot to unwind his stressed body and he felt the coil of tension on his mid-back, where the wing joint was begin to unravel. He stared at the tiles above him, the curious mix of colours and shapes. Red roses for Ruby, blue butterflies for Spinel, bright yellow sunflowers for Keroberos and snowflakes and snow white rabbits for himself and Yue. Hei-ying's contribution was around the mirror, an assortment of spring flowers hung about it delicately. 

Yukito lay there, trying hard not to think.

Later he would talk to Touya, what they would do about Hei-ying. It seemed to the wise snow rabbit that they should try to strengthen Hei-ying against his old memories, his anger against Clow because the Clow that Hei-ying would deal with was not the same one as before. 

Hei-ying's memories and fears were more of a danger to himself and to Clow, than Clow was to Hei-ying. 

He smiled and slipped off into a light doze, as Yue murmured that that was a good plan.

**

Tomoyo ran the brush though Clow's hair one last time and then got up. She glanced at Sakura who waited by the window, looking out vainly into the darkness for her elder brother and his guardian.

"Do you think they are okay?"

Her best friend yawned delicately as she stood and put the brush onto the table before turning to walk over to Sakura's side. "I'm sure they are fine . . ."

"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked quietly, turning away from the window. Her question died on her lips as Tomoyo gave another discreet yawn. "You should have told me you were tired!" Sakura scolded lightly, the other girl began to wave it off but Sakura shook her head. "No, come on, it's time to go to bed for the both of us . . . a lot has happened to day, too much for us to ignore . . ." She wrapped her arms around Tomoyo and hugged her tightly, "Eriol's right, we should talk about it more tomorrow."

Her best friend gave Sakura a thumbs up, "That's my Sakura-chan! Sa-ku-ra! Gan-bat-te!" She raised her fists and shook them up and down, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"To-Tomoyo-chan . . ." Sakura chuckled a little helplessly and began to push the tired and yawning girl out of Clow's room. "And I thought I was too old for cheerleading . . ." She sighed as she yawned herself and turned off the light to Clow's room as they stepped out. "See you have me at it!"

 She pulled the door closed, without noticing the pair of deep blue eyes staring at her with sheer amazement . . .

**

"I wonder why it's taking so long for Touya to bring Hei-ying in . . ." Syaoran turned from the window and frowned deeply at Eriol; "Do you think something has happened?"

"No . . ." Eriol mused quietly from his seat, "We would have felt it. And Touya is not defenceless, perhaps Hei-ying is just mourning . . ."

Syaoran folded his arms and returned to gazing out the window. The rain was still falling heavily, and there was still no sight of the moon or the stars. It seemed that the weather was focusing all its might on adding to the dreary atmosphere, and was intent on not providing them with any fashion of distraction at all. He shook his head; tomorrow they would talk about how they would rescue Meilin. After all, he couldn't just leave her. Like Sakura, he was determined never to give up on her. She was revenged, and her body should have been left to rest peacefully . . . but now that she was reborn, she should be with her kin, her family. He pressed his lips into a hard line and shook his head again. He wouldn't let this Maduokai keep his cousin, no matter how much as a child she had irked him, she was and always had been his cousin. 

Behind him, Eriol lifted his hand and the teapot's lid jumped up as a spoon drifted over to stir the brewing tea inside it with a soft sigh, Eriol waved his hand again and the teapot began to pour into two cups. He glanced over as Syaoran started to pace a little, back and forth before the window, clearly lost in his thoughts. The blue haired boy nodded tiredly, and waved over the two cups.

"Here . . ." Syaoran blinked, startled by the floating cup in front of him. He glanced over at Eriol as the English magician sipped his tea. He took the tea from the air and went to sit in the chair opposite Eriol's. He stared into the fire for a moment, before he drank the strong English tea. 

"We also have to wait for Clow Reed to awaken; we can't do anything and leave him unprotected." Eriol looked over at the fire, the bright embers and flames reflecting in his wide rimmed glasses, "we might play into his hand if we leave Clow open while we seek Meilin. "

"We cannot just leave her!" Syaoran snapped but relented at Eriol looked. He stood, suddenly uncomfortable with the seat and stared into the fire with an agitated look.

"We must wait for Clow . . . you know that." Eriol murmured quietly. The Chinese man crossed his legs and sank down easily before the fire, choosing to sit on the floor beside Eriol's chair. The two had grown much closer since Eriol's first trial of Sakura, strengthened their relationship during the attack of Kyree, and now this problem offered Eriol the unique chance to advise Syaoran again. He sighed and arched his fingers, "The question is . . ." he tilted his head and stared into the fire, "How much will Clow Reed remember of his life when he wakes up? Clearly, he has basic magical abilities . . ." Eriol frowned, "Not as finely tuned as his later life, but he knows basically what to do . . ."

"He's still a novice; I would suggest his magic skill is no more advanced than his age." Syaoran sipped his tea again, allowing the conversation to drift from the subject of his missing cousin. It wouldn't help if he grew frustrated now; he had to reserve his energy to rescue her. He looked up at Eriol as the other stared into the fire thoughtfully. "Do you think his memory loss will be as extensive as Hei-ying's?"

"Perhaps. Hei-ying did mention it seemed like Hilligans recalled who he was . . . maybe, like Hei-ying the memories come back, therefore that would mean that Hilligans was brought back first . . ."

"Maybe because Maduokai experimented on Hilligans, as he did on Hei-ying . . . it would make sense . . . first the unknown human, then the creation . . . both are easily controllable . . ." Syaoran watched the reflection of the flames in Eriol's wide glasses. "Finally he brings back Clow Reed, but why? What advantage would he gain from Clow Reed's reincarnation? The cards?"

"The cards cannot leave he who hath signed upon them his name."

Eriol and Syaoran glanced up and looked over to the doorway, Hei-ying looked a little wearied by the day's events. The dark angel was dripping wet from the rain outside. Touya wasn't much drier and sighed as he shrugged out of his damp magician's cloaks. "Dry yourself by the fire Hei-ying," Touya ordered softly, "I'll go get you some hot soup and tow—"

"It would be improper." Hei-ying interrupted quietly, he pulled Touya's cloaks from him and stepped back. His wings stretched out from his body as he transformed quickly. His false form was noticeably drier, although Tomodachi's damp brown hair was more limp than usual. As he had done to his true form, Hei-ying had made changes to his false form. Tomodachi was no longer simply a dark haired version of Yukito; the false form now had rich brown hair that tumbled down to his hips. It was loosely tied at the bottom of the neck, and then tightly bound into a tight, whip like ponytail. The front fringe of his hair was much like his former true form's hair style, falling heavily over darkened forest green eyes, then swept back into to the main part of the hairstyle. He favoured clothes that were more traditionally English, long waistcoats, and straight-legged trousers. Tomodachi looked more like Yukito's older brother than a clone, and Touya had to admit he preferred it this way. 

The taller magician sighed, "Tomodachi . . ."

The dark green-eyed being before him lifted a monocle to his right eye, and fixed it there. He shook his head and stepped back, "I will bring hot soup for the both of us, then accompany you to your bed, Master Touya . . ." The older version of Yukito's voice spoke softly as he turned to leave, "Then I will retire and dry myself properly." 

"If you must be so stubborn . . ." Touya shook his head, "Fine then. Bring a fresh pot of tea as well."

Tomodachi waved his hand and nodded, his magic carefully shutting the door as he padded out the first floor study. 

As the muted voices of the masters began again behind the closed door, Tomodachi raised a pale hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh," he murmured, "I'm too old for all of this . . ."

He felt Touya's aura of magic begin to move back to the door and Tomodachi moved away quickly. Touya's cloaks were wetting his sleeve and he didn't want to worry Touya too much already. He walked down the corridors, strongly resisting the urge to merely float along them. The feeling of the shorthaired carpets beneath under his shoes reminded his true form strongly that he was not trapped in the old mansion. He paused half way along and looked around. The sweet smell of musky cinnamon, apples and spices seemed to hang in the air quite freshly and memories assaulted him. 

Suddenly, Tomodachi found himself somewhat alone in the dark.

The muted voices of Touya, Eriol and Syaoran had faded away sometime ago and there were no other sounds in the house aside from the persistent rain and the sound of dripping from Touya's cloaks. 

The dampness on his arm where he folded the cloaks kept him grounded in reality, and forced him to remember of where he was. He was in the hallway of the Tsukimine Mansion, carrying his new master's wet cloaks downstairs. He breathed in and half closed his eyes. 

Lights clicked on in the hallway he stood in and down the stairway he was going to take to get to the main hall and through to the main kitchen.  

Frowning darkly and muttering something even he didn't really hear, Tomodachi walked to the stairs and staunchly ignored the old smell that hung fresh in the air . . . even though it got stronger, fresher as he stepped down the stairs. He sighed and shook his head, walking down the stairs with his head down and his thoughts half in the past and half in shadow.

He stared at the rich, red carpet as he walked, not really taking in anything and missed the sound of bare feet quietly slapping against the main hall's floor. His thoughts turned away from Clow for a moment and back onto his task at hand, true his heart wanted to dwell on what he could remember of his death, it was a strange notion to contemplate your own death, but Hei-ying found it infinitely interesting. He could only see it as an outside looking in now, the concept of him being dead and alive at the same time was all too confusing so his sharp mind simply rewrote his memory so he could look at it as if he was viewing someone else's dying moments. 

He missed the sudden intake of breath from the hall, the sudden swish of clothing as the owner of the feet spun.

Tomodachi raised a hand and pinched the arch of his nose again, soup. He was supposed to be getting soup. Not musing the merits of his own dying words. Soup. They had left over soup from dinner, surely. Keroberos didn't seem like he was in any mood to finish it; but then again, the old lion was unpredictable when it came to the manner of food. The soup that was there wasn't packed with sugar, however it was a very hearty soup, much like the noodles that Keroberos insisted were the best in all of Japan. 

He'd gotten halfway down the stairs when he finally became aware he was not entirely alone. 

First he glanced up, frowning, his hackles rising as he realised he was being watched. The first floor was utterly dark; the lights had been switching off as he walked down. He glanced down the stairs quickly, toward his destination. The kitchen was already lit and no shadows paced back and forth.

He blinked and looked toward the front doors when a quietly bemused voice caught his attention.

"Excuse me . . ." There was a heartbreakingly familiar chuckle, "But where am I?"

**

Humming caught his attention.

Yukito's eyes shot open as he realised he was no longer alone in the bathroom. 

"Aah!"

 He sat up, sloshing water and foam out of the bathtub as Nakuru continued to hum to herself and brush her teeth. Her brushing slowed to a stop as she looked at him through the mirror and smiled manically. 

"Yue will kill you!" Yukito blushed deeply and chuckled, "What are you doing here?"

"You realise you've been in that bathtub for the last three hours, right?" Nakuru mumbled around her toothbrush. As Yukito frowned, she spat and gargled with some water. 

"Have I?" Yukito looked into the bubbly water, "But the water's still hot." 

"Yue's enchanted it, hasn't he?" She shrugged, the shoulder of her bathrobe slipping off slightly. She plucked a towel from the rack and threw it on the floor where water had splashed out, and then plucked another one to fold twice more and balanced precariously on the edge of the tub where she sat. "Don't splash . . ." She warned him, waving her own wooden hand hairbrush at him threateningly, "Or Yue may find himself several hairs short of a comb over." 

Yukito rolled his eyes and chuckled inwardly as he felt Yue growl mentally. 

Nakuru, in the meantime, pulled out several soft rollers from her deep pockets and set them on the closed toilet lid. She began to hum again as she started to brush out her long hair. "How are you feeling?"

Yuki blinked and smiled; "Much better, well rested . . . I could sleep for a good few days!"

Nakuru yawned widely and started to work in the first roller. "Really? Isn't it a bad thing when you feel like that?" 

"Huh?"

"I mean when you were fading, you kept falling asleep . . ." she tilted her head and stuck out her tongue as she groped for the clip. "I just thought . . ."

"No, I'm fine really . . ." Yukito chuckled, "I suppose I meant Yue could sleep for a good few days."

Nakuru paused and straightened slightly, she glanced at him strangely for a very long moment. "Are you sure?"

Yukito blinked owlishly. "Yes, why?"

"It's just . . ." Nakuru stared at him a little harder, "You . . . confused yourself for Yue . . ."

"I'm tired," Yukito shrugged, not really understanding her point. "We have been through a lot for the last few days . . ."

"I know but . . ." Nakuru went back to fiddling with her roller. "Hm . . . It must just be me . . ."

"Probably." Yukito smiled warmly. He leant back and picked up the glass of juice from the toilet lid and sipped it. The bitter lemon was oddly sweet as he swallowed it, and he sighed. "What do you think of all of this?"

"All of what?" Nakuru's answer was somewhat distracted. "What do you mean? The burial, or the whole caboodle?"

"The whole caboodle." Yukito smiled and chuckled at Nakuru's slang. "From the moment it all began."

"Kinda weirded out, I suppose . . ." she murmured, and hissed as she pulled a roller too tightly. "Maybe a little excited. It has been four years since we all last did something . . . big, y'know? Although I wouldn't mind it being less scary, why can't anything that wants to take us on be like Eriol and just kinda play funny jokes on us?"

"You realise some of those jokes weren't so funny to us, right?" Yukito opened an amber eye, "That time you lot tried to force Sakura to change the wave card, and almost drowned one of her friends, that wasn't so much fun."

"Eriol would never hurt anyone, he would have stopped it before it got so bad . . ." Nakuru huffed slightly, "Besides you got to see me in a cute outfit didn't you? And I had roller-skates."  

"Clow forbid I forget that . . ." Yukito chuckled as he closed his eyes again.

Nakuru giggled, "It was around then you stared to get really jealous, wasn't it?"

"I was not jealous." Yukito opened his eyes again and stared at her, "I was concerned for Touya's sanity!"

"Schyeah, whatever . . . I saw the green eyed monster in you rise up!"

Yukito stared at her blankly, "Hei-ying?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, not him . . . envy? Envy and jealousy are said to be green eyed monsters . . ." She put a finger against her bottom lip and glanced up, "Though now you mention it, it's kinda kooky that Hei-ying's green eyed and he went insane from his jealous of you, Yue and Clow . . ."

"Don't say that." Yukito tilted his head seriously, "Hei-ying . . . Hei-ying's just not well."

"He tried to kill you both, tried to kill everyone . . . you can't tell me he's completely sane now." Nakuru stared at him sincerely, "There's always going to be something wrong with him, he is the third guardian." 

"No, he's not." Yukito's voice dropped a littler lower, surprising her. He spoke with the inflections of Yue, his voice sounding a little like a harmonised mix of the two. "If you blame the laws of triad for Hei-ying's behaviour, then you are utterly wrong." His eyes seemed to seep a little, turning a little violet. For a moment, Nakuru couldn't really tell if she was speaking to Yue through Yukito, or Yukito through Yue. "I'm the third guardian, the last created. I don't know what happened to Hei-ying that made him this way, but I know that you can't just blame him . . ."

Nakuru continued to stare at him before she returned to brushing her hair, "Sure . . . now, Yukito, tell me what you think . . ."

"Huh?" Yukito frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"That's what Yue wants, isn't it? To have a whole family? But you . . . you're not him?" She looked at him with her dark brown eyes, "You've always been slightly apart from Yue . . . what do you think of it? Of Hei-ying? Aren't you worried about him being Touya's guardian?"

Fine grey eyebrows pulled together in thought, as the snow rabbit recalled his conversation with Hei-ying and Touya, and to some extent, Yue . . . to be honest it had been a little worrying to realise that because of Hei-ying's partial dependence on Sakura's magic, there was still the slightest possibility that Yue and Hei-ying could still be drawn to each other. 

Nakuru watched him as he thought.

Finally, Yukito looked up. "I love Touya. Yue loves Touya. We both love him." He paused and looked down, and we know that Touya loves us, he loves Yue and he loves Yukito . . ."

As the snow rabbit paused again, Nakuru stared at him with growing shock. A drop of water from the tap was the only noise as Yukito stared into the water and thought. He blinked and looked up at her, "But Hei-ying . . ." he pursed his lips, "I don't know what Hei-ying wants from all of this to be honest, Yue is telling me that he wants to live, wants to be our brother again but now that Clow reed is back . . ." he sighed, "I can't tell anymore and . . ."

"I know." Nakuru looked down and slowly began to pull hairs from her brush, "It's weird . . . I wonder how they will react to each other? Do you think Clow will . . . I dunno, try to kill him?"

"Kill him?" Yukito looked up at her with surprise . . .

**

_. . . and stepped back at the fury in his brother's voice. _

_"You should kill him for what he's done!"_

_He stared at the door for a long moment before shuffling forward again and pressing pale, bandaged hands against the door. He tilted his head slowly, closing his eyes as he tried to make out what was being said. It was Clow and Keroberos, they were arguing . . . or rather, Keroberos was . . . Clow's voice was too soft, too weakened, too disheartened to speak up properly. But everything he said, anything he said forced Keroberos to react to each and every word with more anger than before. _

_"You can't be serious!" Keroberos roared. "The man's a fucking maniac!" _

_The lion's sheer rage surprised him, making him blink his eyes open. After a while of staring at his white, ragged fringe, he leant toward the door again and strained to hear Clow's response. He could imagine the scene; Keroberos would be stood in front of Clow, in his full form, while Clow would be slouched in his chair. Not quite meeting Keroberos' golden eyes. Clow was sad about something. He always seemed to be sad nowadays, as if he hated his life so much that he wished it would all disappear. This made him sad too. He thought he had been a good boy, he thought he made Clow happy. He always used seemed happy when he showed him his pictures._

_He turned away from the door and limped down the corridor. The injuries he had were still painful, despite the care Clow and Keroberos had given him. Maybe, his eldest brother had been right . . . maybe his creation had brought hell to their family. He sniffed, as the tears rolled down his young cheeks. Perhaps, if Yue went away, if he tried to be Yukito all the time, if being a human like Clow . . . perhaps Yukito would make Clow happy again. He paused as he past the locked room. He was in there. Clow had locked Him in there. _

_"I know you're there."_

_He jumped in shock as his eldest brother called to him through the door. The young boy knew he should have left, just left and walked on but he stayed. He sat down, and stared up at the large black door, as his brother continued to speak. _

_He was listening, like every good boy should . . ._

**

"Yukito?"

The snow rabbit jumped and sloshed water, but Nakuru didn't seem to care. She stared at him with barely concealed concern, "What happened? What's wrong?"

He stared at her for a while, not really understanding what he had just remembered, what memory it was. He wasn't supposed to have any memory of Clow and Keroberos, those were all Yue's //ours// memories. Yukito stared at the foam bubbles and wondered what was wrong with him. There was something wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He couldn't put voice to this nameless, innate wrongness because in many ways it also felt familiar and right. 

"You can't hear him, can you?" Nakuru's voice was soft and careful, as if by raising her voice she would break something. He blinked and looked up at her, almost confused by the sudden silence that had descended on the house. The dripping tap, even with its slow, irregular dripping was too loud for the room. He swallowed, "Hear who?"

"Yukito . . ." she whispered and his eyes widened. That was it.  That was what was wrong! He raised his hands, and stared at his fingers. They were wrinkled from being in the water for so long, and pale but . . . but . . . were they his fingers . . . who was 'he'?! He wanted to say he was Yukito, smile and chuckle softly at his cousin for her silliness but then . . . the urge to snort disdainfully and toss his head almost overrode that, roll his eyes and state that he was Yue. It frightened him that he didn't know. His mouth worked for a moment as he stared at her.

The silence. 

It was horrible but nice for once. 

There wasn't the constant babble of Yukito nor the cool distain of Yue there was simply . . .

//I know you're there.//

Nakuru jumped as Yukito's body suddenly jerked unnaturally, as if someone had slipped a hairdryer into the water. She almost screamed as he slid under the water for a moment and she thrust her hands to catch him. She needn't of worried, Yue's wings suddenly extended and flapped hard as the survival trait of the guardian kicked in and lifted the body out of the water. 

Yue coughed and spluttered for a moment, and he gripped the side of the tub with pale hands tightly. His eyes were wide as he caught his breathe and Nakuru pressed a hand against his shoulder. "Are you. . ."

"I'm Yue." He coughed, he shook his head, "I mean, I'm fine . . . I'm fine . . ." 

And just as quickly as he had appeared, Yue transformed back into Yukito. The grey haired boy started to get out of the tub and fumbled around for a towel. Still shocked by what she had witnessed, Nakuru quietly helped the snow rabbit. She wrapped a towel around him and slid his glasses back onto his nose. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly, unsure of what response she would get from the grey haired boy with his expression so lost looking. Yukito blinked and stared at her for a moment before turning away to look in the mirror. 

Nakuru stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, "Yuki . . . Yue was here. . ."

"Was he?" Yukito's voice sounded far away as he lifted his hand and wiped away the steam on the glass. He swallowed and some recognition began to come back to his eyes. He turned slightly and looked at her. "Clow . . ."

Nakuru tilted her head.

"Clow could never kill Hei-ying . . ." Yukito said quietly, "He never had the heart to hurt him, no matter how deeply Hei-ying hurt Clow . . . Clow could never kill Hei-ying . . ."

**

A throaty growl and a slight shifting at the end of her bed made Sakura open her eyes to darkness. 

She stared upwards for a while as the throaty growl muttered something and then the legs of the shifting thing at the end of her bed started to kick slightly. Sighing, Sakura reached out and flicked the switch on her bedside lamp. "Kero-chan!" She chuckled as she reached down the heavy lion and petted his head. His helmet lay on the floor, while his long tail was curled up along the side of the bed. Sakura shook her head and shook him to wake up; his growls were getting louder and seemingly more violent. The young mistress of the cards frowned as she heard Keroberos speak in English, his Osaka accent nearly disappearing. Over the years she had learn at least a little English, it was necessary to understand some of the books Clow had left behind. 

Keroberos was talking to someone and, by the sounds of his tone, was getting increasingly angry at them and their response. Reaching out slowly again, Sakura got to her knees and tried to shake her sun guardian, "Kero-chan?" She asked worriedly, "Kero-chan?"

". . . you can't be serious . . ." Keroberos muttered, then his face curled into a furious frown, "The man's a fucking maniac!" Sakura shook Keroberos a little harder as his expression grew darker, "You can't do this, he's got to be killed . . . you can't just seal him away!"

"Kero-chan!" Sakura snapped, getting scared now as she realised that Keroberos was talking about Hei-ying. The old lion's golden eyes snapped open and he stared dully for a moment, you're making a mistake, "Clow . . ." he whispered to the darkness before his eyes refocused and he glanced up at Sakura. "Nani?" He asked, his Osaka accent returning and the old Kero-chan Sakura knew and loved so dearly reappeared. "Sakura-chan . . . what's wrong?"

"You were dreaming . . ." Sakura murmured, "Dreaming about an argument . . ."

Keroberos' golden eyes narrowed slightly and he dipped his head down again to rest on his paws. "It's nothing; he said finally, just old memories rearing their ugly heads . . ." the lion yawned widely, "please go back to sleep . . ."

Sakura pursed her lips, unwilling to let it go but she knew how stubborn Keroberos was when it came to matters of the past. "Why are you here?" She asked, changing the subject. "Couldn't you sleep in your own bed?"

He lifted his head and nodded to the window, "I'm worried about the rain . . . it's not . . . a good sign." The lion sighed and looked at her, "So I thought that I'd come here and lie down with you . . . I don't like that rain and I'd rather know you were safe . . ." 

Sakura smiled warmly at his thoughtfulness but couldn't resist teasing him a little, "Uh-huh . . . are you sure it's not that you are just scared of rainstorms?" 

Kero-chan jerked his head back, playing into her tease, "Me?" He snorted, "Ha! I'm fearless, there's nothing that can scare me!" He nodded as if he'd successfully closed that argument with that. He padded up the bed and lay down beside her, nudging her neck with his muzzle, "Now, go to sleep. Have sweet dreams . . . Oyasumi."

Sakura yawned and smiled tiredly, "Oyasumi Kero-chan . . ."

He watched her quietly as she drifted back to sleep, it was something he had done countless times for years and it was something he never really took for granted. His new mistress was so special; it was almost too easy to forget his past. 

Looking up, Keroberos stared at the large mirror before him.

Clow Reed was alive once more. Hei-ying was alive once again. Yue and Yukito were here. And outside, rain fell relentlessly. 

It wasn't the rain he was scared of.

It was snow . . . 

It was the cold. 

Cold feelings that had been stirring in Hei-ying lately. 

A cold feeling of dread that awakened in Keroberos' stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. He didn't want to feel it yet he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction in the fact that he may have been right. These feelings he'd felt from Hei-ying, those cold smiles . . .

. . . he'd seen them all before . . .

The dead yet sharp eyes, the nimble sure hands like claws.

. . . floating over a frozen pond, breaking the thin ice with jade green ripples of magic.

Keroberos didn't fear the rain; Keroberos feared the snow, the cold . . . 

. . . and the silence.

----------

And Now It's Time To LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: [picks up story and blows dust of it, grinning sheepishly at Yue, who tries to blow the cobwebs out of his hair] 

Yue: [glares at DrM]

DrM: Erm … I was busy, with Hei-ying … in another story …? [points of her other cast of characters, Hei-ying glares at Doctor Weatherbye who is just grinning inanely back at him]

Weatherbye: [waves at everybody] Hei-ying, darling, love of my mortal life … why didn't you introduce me to the in-laws …

Hei-ying: [levels Glare #7 at him] 

Yue: [glares harder]

DrM: I'm a busy uni student?

Yue: [glares the hardest he can]

DrM: [melts under his gaze, and not in the good way either, pitifully] I'm sorry … please say you forgive me!!

Yue: [mutters] Please R&R… if only if you want to ensure that DrM doesn't get the stuffing beaten out of her by me … [glares at Puddle of DrM] How DARE you spend the last five months working on a story that did NOT involve me! [kicks DrM] Bad Evil Overlord, VERY bad evil overlord!!

Weatherbye: [watching the ensuing violence, but does nothing to prevent it] Oh, my … that's certainly going to hurt …

Hei-ying: [rolls eyes] Just … review… stop the madness. Remember, Reviewing makes DrM feel really guilty about not updating regularly … Feedback and guilt equals more story for all. 

Weatherbye: [nodding wisely] Don't ask what this story can do for you, but when the next chapter is due. [grins widely and pokes Hei-ying] hey, that rhymed! 


	15. Clow Reed, Master Magician

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

 "Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .  

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Fourteen: Clow Reed, Master Magician

[A/N: Waaaaiiii!! I cannot believe the massive response!! [blushes] Honestly, thank you so much for sticking with me, like I said in the last A/Ns I wouldn't have so, *bows to all who reviewed* thank you very much, I can only hope that the story continues to be up to standard!]

The only sounds in the massive front hall of the Tsukimine Mansion were the muted wails of the wind outside and the slow dripping rainwater from Touya's cloak. 

Dark forest green eyes stared down into wide, dark blue, familiar eyes. 

Hidden in his false form, Hei-ying stared down from the middle of the twisting staircase, focused on the centre of the engraved magic circle in the centre of the huge hall. The lighting was soft, merely candle light and instantly he was transported to five hundred years ago. His heart stilled, he slowly stopped breathing. A smile twitched at pale pink lips knowingly. A pale hand rose slowly to brush back loose, soft, fine black hair. Pale feet were bare and stark against the dark wood. The neck of the nightclothes had fallen open and the glint of the old magic key shone against the hard bone of the collar and the pale, soft skin. 

He let his eyes slide close and breathed in.

There. 

The smell of apple and cinnamon tainted the air, tainted the hall . . . tainted his soul once again. 

His own lips parted and a breath passed unnoticed.

". . . Clow . . ."

He opened his eyes hoping the ghost was gone, praying to someone, anyone to come along and take care of this so he could hide away. But still . . . there stood the man, Clow Reed Master Magician himself, looking up at him with an expression of gentle bemusement. 

"Excuse me . . ." Clow's voice floated back up again, a slight echo in the air due to the size of the hall. "But where am I?"

Realisation of the reality of the situation forced Hei-ying internally to recoil with fear and loathing, but thanks to his severe control over his false form's feature, Tomodachi's only response was the slightest twitch of his left eyebrow. Clow's expression started to change, turning from gentle bemusement to mild worry. Hei-ying almost smiled, how like Clow . . . he never really cottoned on to how serious a situation could be until it was too late. 

The young Reed magician took a bold step forward and spoke again, "Please . . . I don't know where I am . . ."

Above him, standing as still as a statue, the stranger looked down at him with impenetrable dark eyes. The coat he was holding was soaking wet, no doubt from being outside and the stranger himself looked a little damp. Absently he wondered what the stranger could have been doing in such a heavy downpour, but his main concern remained on trying to get an answer out of the stranger. With a quiet sigh, the stranger looked away from him and looked to be thinking. Clow wondered briefly if it was because he didn't understand English, that maybe he should try another language. But which? Clow knew quite a few, some he was fluent in, others he only had a passing understanding of. It would take too long to try and ask the stranger in so many languages, plus there was the chance that the stranger might think he was mad. 

He pursed his lips and took another step forward, meaning to approach the stranger when the other shook his head to some unasked question and continued down the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, not so much hesitantly but with some other emotion that held him back.

Finally he sighed deeply and began to walk towards Clow with an expression on his face that told the young man that this stranger had been expecting him.

Clow was surprised to realise that the stranger was no older than he was, the young features of the boy taking him by surprise. His damp brown hair was fairly long and the fringe seemed designed to hide the pale features of young man. His black booted feet came to a stop no more than three feet from Clow and the young magician smiled slightly as the other pulled a monocle from his right eye and paused to clean it. 

After replacing it, the young stranger looked up at Clow with dark, forest green eyes.      

Strangely, Clow blinked as the soft smell of spring and rain wafted to his nose, he suddenly found himself a little tongue-tied. The younger boy seemed a little wary of him, yet his dark green eyes held such . . . such *age* that Clow wondered if the other was not older than he appeared. The strange young man tilted his head slightly as if he was expecting Clow to speak again, and the magician opened his mouth. 

He quickly gathered his thoughts and began to speak.

"I thought I had fallen asleep." He murmured, feeling a little uneasy by the stranger's silent contemplation of him. "I bought this mansion and the last thing I remember is the coach drive here." He paused and looked around again, the bemusement welling up again. "I was told that this place needed some rebuilding inside and out . . . but if the gardens are anything like this . . ." he smiled as he turned back to the stranger, "I see that I won't have much to do . . . now, are you a ghost or am I dreaming?"

The stranger's head began to tilt the other way and a slight frown began to gather on his brow. Clow sighed and smiled a little helplessly, "I saw two women earlier . . . they were very nice and took care of me . . . maybe you should lead me to them . . ." he paused again for the stranger to make some sort of indication that he understood him. The stranger blinked but still nothing. Clow sighed, "maybe it is that you don't understand me . . ." he pointed to himself, "My name is Clow Reed." He pointed away from himself and motion toward the stranger, "and you? What is your name?"

The strange young man with the deep green eyes blinked again, his frown darkening a little more before he glanced down at his arm. The coat he was carrying was now soaking his clothes and making him feel uncomfortable. With a sharp sigh, the stranger looked up at Clow again.

"On the first floor, there is a set of double doors; beyond them is the main library of this mansion. You will find there, three of this Mansion's masters, Master Syaoran Li, Master Eriol Hiirawagizawa and Master Touya Kinomoto. They hold the answers you seek." With that curt reply, the dark haired stranger turned on a heel away from him and moved toward the ground floor's kitchens. Suddenly bewildered by the stranger's curtness and his perfect English, Clow gaped at the other clearly surprised. He glanced up the darkened stairs and raised an eyebrow. "Masters of the Mansion?" He muttered, he turned back to the retreating stranger and pondered aloud, "what does that make you then?"

He looked up the stairs once more and then decided to follow the stranger rather than climb back up the long steps. 

"Please, wait!" He called after the young man. "I'm cold, and have no other clothes to wear!"

"There is a fire there." Answered the stranger, just as curtly as before, not even breaking his stride as he held out his free hand and swept the kitchen door open with magic. Clow blinked and, with a quiet chuckle at the stranger's apparent stubbornness, followed after him. 

The kitchen was both familiar and strange. It was filled with many of the normal things one would find in the kitchen, but the stove was much different from what Clow had once known. Pots and pans hung from a rack and there was a large bowl filled with apples and oranges in the centre of the large wooden table. A large white box thing hummed quietly in the corner and the sink's large single tap had been replaced with two smaller taps. He paused and looked around, "what . . ." he smiled, "what kind of trick is this?"

The stranger took no notice of him as he bustled around the kitchen. He stooped to push the large wet coat into the small drum of another strange white box thing and flicked a few switches. Within moments the strange little white box thing began to hum and gurgle. Clow stared at it with little concealed curiosity before focusing on the stranger again. He had opened the large humming white thing in the corner and was looking through several boxes of what Clow took to be food. Finally settling on something, the stranger sighed and nodded to a pot above his head. It settled on the stove and the young man poured the contents of the box, a meaty soup (by the looks of it) into the pot. Flicking another switch, the young man lit the stove and glanced over at window. With a near silent sigh he spoke again, "this is Japan." He stared at Clow thought the window's reflections, "Approximately five centuries after the last moment you remember." 

"Pardon me?" Clow started as the strange young man pulled open a drawer and riffled through it for something. He pulled out a wooden spoon and started to stir the soup slowly. "You heard me . . ." he said quietly, "This is the future for you . . ." he paused and looked down, "You were subject to a strange spell and, for reasons as yet unknown, you were brought back to life approximately five centuries after your death." 

Clow pulled a seat from under the table and sank down slowly, "Honestly?"

The stranger glanced over his shoulder with a stern expression, "My master and his friends will tell you the same thing." 

The young magician nodded slowly and put a hand over his lips for a moment as he thought, "And you have one master out of how many?"

"Five. There are five masters living in this mansion." The stranger turned away from the stove and picked up a loaf of bread from the table, he began to cut it with harsh motions as if he was angry. Clow waited a moment, sensing there was more to say and he was unwilling to provoke the strange servant into silence again.

The pot on the stove began to bubble quietly behind them and Clow stood, taking up the spoon and stirring it slowly. After a while the servant began to speak again. 

**++**

The rain showed no sign of letting up and Touya felt weary.

"Hei-ying didn't look very happy."

He turned away from the window and looked over at Syaoran who stared at him, warnings flashing in his eyes. Touya shook his head, that's an understatement. "These last few days Hei-ying's mood has been getting worse . . . he's been dwelling on thoughts that would be best forgotten and yet . . ." Touya shook his head, "with the advent of Clow Reed, they are unavoidable." He sighed and raised a hand to knead the knots in his neck. Hei-ying is afraid, very afraid of Clow. He paused, not sure how to explain it properly. "His fear stems from . . . I suppose, the fear of living through everything he has ever lived through all over again . . . I think it may have been partly our fault. In the last few months we have promised him time and time again, there is no chance of all of this happening again and yet . . ." he sighed and shook his head. "Here is Clow Reed, reborn from the dead . . . from Hei-ying's point of view, it is inevitable that Clow's attention shall fall on him once again and he will be sucked back into . . ." he frowned deeply and looked at his friends earnestly, "whatever happened in those ten years. Whatever happened with Kyree. These things remain a mystery and if we don't know what happened . . . how can we ever hope to know what triggers it, what sets it all in motion." 

"We cannot assume that Clow will do anything." Eriol said, shaking his head in disagreement, "I think that Fujitaka and I are clear examples that there is more good in Clow than . . . whatever you think . . . Kyree was weak and unstable. Fujitaka and I were, when we were both his reincarnation, we were good people." 

"There is not a doubt that you two were stronger than Kyree . . ." Syaoran spoke, "but you cannot assume that you are wholly good." 

"What are you suggesting?"

Syaoran shook his head, "Hiirawagizawa, you know as well as I do, no being is perfectly good or perfectly evil. Ying Yang. There is darkness in every saint; there is light in every demon. Nothing in the universe exists without light or a shadow." He paused, "Clow Reed's mistake was that he assumed to divide everything that was good in his soul by two . . . therefore Kyree was created." He glanced at the two, "I mean no disrespect to either of you, or to Fujitaka . . . but there are instances I can think of when Clow's stubbornness, Clow's desire broke through." 

Eriol sipped his tea and motioned Syaoran to continue. 

"When Clow wants something . . ." Syaoran leant forward, "Clow usually gets it." 

"What do you mean?" Touya said, sinking into a third seat. 

"First instance. Clow Reed wanted Sakura to be Mistress of the Cards. Even though she failed the judgement, even though Yue judged her to be unfit. Clow created the bell to ensure that she was given a second chance." He raised a hand to stop Eriol, "if he was being fair . . . really fair, why wasn't I given a second chance? Second instance. Eriol . . . you forced Sakura to change the cards."

"Because it had to be done." Eriol protested, frowning slightly. "It had to be done."

"But Keroberos could have told her. Clow could have left instructions behind. Yue could have told her. Sakura would have noticed that her cards were not working as they should have and she would have learnt to change them by herself. You said so yourself once, you wanted to be there." Syaoran sighed, "my final instance is Fujitaka . . ." 

"My father died because he met with Hei-ying." Touya nodded as he spoke quietly. He sighed, "My father wasn't homosexual . . . but he was attracted to Hei-ying's false form. From what I gather from Hei-ying, he was almost seduced by him . . . against his better judgement, my father met him and that is basically how he came to die." 

"Clow has an attraction to males," Syaoran looked at Eriol, "this is evident in both the cases of Yue and Hei-ying . . ."

"No . . ." Eriol shook his head, "no, it's not about that . . . Clow is attracted to beauty; there was something about Hei-ying, about Yue, about Nadeshiko and about Tomoyo that he was drawn to. But . . ." he sighed, "I do take your point, Clow does push when he wants something, but he's a *good* man."

"I know . . . there's just a weakness to him . . ." Syaoran sat back, he glanced at Touya. "And unfortunately that weakness is Hei-ying . . ."

"He was making such good progress . . ." Touya shook his head, "I don't know what to do except try to keep him from falling too deeply into his memories . . . Tomoyo was right, I remind Hei-ying too much of Clow." 

Eriol frowned at this and rested his chin on his fist, staring at Syaoran as the Little Wolf closed his eyes and meditated. "Did he make any more . . ." the Little Wolf bit his lip, "any more requests?"

Touya sat quietly for a moment before he got up and walked over to the window again, he thought about Hei-ying deeply. He wasn't sure how to phrase it, his understanding of Hei-ying's mind was so clear to him and yet he found himself poorly able to express it. "He just . . ." he let his eyes unfocus for a moment, recalling Hei-ying's forever old eyes. "He just asked me not to let him live his life again." He pursed his lips together and turned away from the window, knowing that the other two wouldn't really understand without looking into Hei-ying's eyes at that moment. "I won't let him become dangerous." He nodded slowly, "I won't let him hurt Sakura or Yue or anyone under this roof but . . ." he glanced over his shoulder and looked out, "I can't seal him."

"You may have to if he becomes dangerous again." Syaoran stood, not liking Touya's sympathetic tone.

"No." Touya shook his head, "I won't do what Clow did, that just made it worse!" He looked at the others, "I won't seal him, I won't just put him away like a forgotten toy again . . . Clow's already tried that . . . he tried to forget about Hei-ying, and look where that got us." He walked toward the fire again, "No . . . we either help Hei-ying when he needs us or we kill him outright, I'd rather let him die than seal him again."

"So if he becomes dangerous again—"

Touya snapped his head toward Syaoran; "If that time comes . . ." he shook his head and returned to the window, clasping his hands behind his back, "if that time comes then we will reap the fruits of our negligence."

"I agree." Eriol said and held up his hand to Syaoran, "we should try to remain vigilant in respects to both of them . . . we have to remember that Kyree was a part of Clow as well, he was a good man but she was a part of him . . ." he paused and looked into the fire, "I don't want to dream of it, I dare not even imagine it, but Clow Reed, master magician . . . the most powerful magician of us all . . . may become as unstable as Kyree once he realises that he's trapped in a world that doesn't need him anymore."

Syaoran stepped toward the fire and closed his eyes. 

"We have Clow Reed . . . We have Hei-ying . . ." he opened his eyes and turned away from the fire, looking at the others with worried deep brown eyes, we have the angel with whom Clow Reed fell in love with, we have Yue." 

"And we have a five hundred year old mystery . . . which if we do not solve, and take care of . . ." Touya turned his head and stared out into the relentless rain, "We risk the sanity of the most dangerous and unstable of Clow's guardians and the rage of Clow Reed himself . . ." 

"When Clow wakes up . . . we'll have to be very, very careful . . ." Eriol murmured, "We'll have to tread lightly . . . perhaps keep them apart . . ."

**++**

"The Li clan are still around, but the Reeds are not?"

Hei-ying internally gritted his teeth so hard his jaw was beginning to ache, but still he was careful to keep his false form's back to Clow. His hands were beginning to tremble slightly and the over powering urge to bury the long bread knife in Clow's neck was beginning to wear at his nerves. 

"What happened to the Reeds? Where did they go? I mean; did the name just die out?"

With a great amount of will power Hei-ying let go of the bread knife and walked away from the chopping board. He went over to the sink with the intention of getting a glass of water but paused as he noticed the rack of knives nearby. His fingers itched to wrap around the smooth handle of the largest chopping knife. He closed his eyes and breathed, continuing on to the sink.

And that damned smell of apple and cinnamon!  

It was driving him insane being in the same room as his handsome creator. Clow's voice . . . still as low and sensual as the last time his master had breathed into his ears, with deep breathy groans. Hei-ying forced his eyes opened as he realised he'd cut himself. The dirty edge of a small sharp knife had caught him; he stared at the blood trickling from his finger.

"That looks bad . . ." 

The stranger jumped as he spoke. Clow smiled a little helplessly, he couldn't help that the stranger was so caught up in his own thoughts. With wide dark green eyes, the stranger looked at him silently. "Here . . ." Clow reached over, not really knowing why he did it, and pulled the finger into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he sucked the blood from the stranger, and a moment later was surprised as he felt the cool breath and the warm presence of the young man suddenly come a lot closer. Clow opened his eyes to see the stranger leaning toward him, lips parted as if expecting a kiss. His dark green eyes were half lidded and his expression was half sleepy. It thrilled Clow, who – from his point of view as a seventeen-year-old magician – never had any sort of sexual contact. His dark blue eyes widened and his stomach suddenly fluttered with nervous butterflies. He certainly never expected anything like this when he had run away from his family!

"Don't." The stranger suddenly hissed, his expression turning from dreamy to threatening in an instant. He pulled away, "Don't ever touch me." 

Clow blinked with surprise, "I-I-I'm sorry . . ." he stuttered, "I was . . . I was just trying to help . . ."

For a moment, the stranger's expression softened, his eyes that seemed so old turned young and confused and Clow . . . Clow wanted to protect him. Then the moment passed and the stranger seemed to force himself away from Clow, turning away from him to wash his finger, though it had stopped bleeding. 

Hei-ying swallowed, silently berating himself.

He couldn't help it. He hated Clow . . . but . . . this Clow didn't know who he was . . . this Clow was still some child inside, he didn't know about him, about Keroberos . . . about Yue, about the cards . . . he wasn't even like the Clow he had once known. 

"Are you cold?"

He blinked and turned again, finding himself between Clow and the sink. Clow tilted his head, "Are you cold? You're trembling."

Hei-ying shook his head and looked down, "I'm fine . . ." he sighed, "You must be cold." He shifted and stepped around Clow, pacing over to the closet. 

"You . . ." Clow asked quietly, as he sat on a high stool, and gazed at the servant. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Who are you?"

Clow smiled slightly, before shivering. The servant pulled out a box of freshly dried, un-pressed clothes. He pulled out a large evening robe and held it up, "This will fit you until Mistress Hiirawagizawa is able to craft you clothing." 

"Thank you." Clow murmured thankfully, as he pulled on the dark green robe, it smelled faintly of the servant. "This is yours." He smiled slightly, "You like green?"

The servant didn't answer and returned to the bread cutting. 

"Please, I can't just call you 'you'." Clow tilted his head, and ran a hand through his long black hair. It was longer than he remembered it being, but shrugged that off. "What's your name? Why are you a servant?"

"I am not a servant." The man answered curtly, "My name is . . ." Hei-ying trailed off and bit his lip. "My name . . ." he cursed his weakness as tears gathered in his false form's eyes, behind him Clow's warm, comfortable aura shifted slightly and it was almost . . . almost as if it was just the two of them again. He suddenly couldn't think, when they had been alone Clow hadn't ever really paid this much attention to him. He swallowed hard and dared to glance over his shoulder.

The young magician sat there, a wide, warm, waiting smile on his lips. His dark blue eyes hiding behind half closed lids, glasses carefully balanced on his nose. The white undershirt and the dark green robe didn't really suit him but . . .

. . . suddenly the green seemed to change slightly, shifting more into a dark purple. Clow's favourite colour, the dark blue eyes were focused entirely on him and a slow, sly, sexy smile pulled at Clow's lips. Hei-ying thought his mouth must have been filled with syrup, he couldn't talk.

"My name . . ." he whispered as Clow suddenly got up, sliding from his seat with the grace of a cat. He yawned slightly, he was ready to go to bed . . . and his smile said he would ask Hei-ying to come to him tonight. "My . . ."

Clow was standing next to him, warm blue eyes just for him. His lips parted, any moment the invitation would spill from his lips like fine red wine . . .

. . . like fine red wine, hot, slick blood began to pour. With tears escaping, Clow's eyes bulged; they rolled upwards as he choked on his own blood. It dripped down, staining the white night shirt and joined the blood that oozed from the gaping wound Hei-ying inflicted on him. The dark angel stared with horror and perverse pleasure as he pulled the long meat knife out of Clow's chest and raised it again. 

"How could you forget my name . . .?" Hei-ying spoke as if drugged, as he brought the knife down again and slowly dragged it out again.

"Because you've not told me yet . . . at least . . . I don't think so . . ." Clow chuckled quietly as he raised his hand to pull off his glasses and cleaned them on a corner of the bathrobe. "But then I'm terribly forgetful. . ."

Hei-ying blinked. Clow was still sitting where he had been, in the green bathrobe. In his hand, Hei-ying held a glass of water. He stared at the glass and noticed his hand was beginning to shake quite violently. Clow gasped as the stranger suddenly started to shake hard and dropped the glass of water. He got up from his seat and ran around the table to still the poor man. "Are you okay?" He pressed his hand against the stranger's forehead and gasped again, "You've a temperature!" 

Dark green eyes widened as pale cheeks flushed and turned ashen. 

"You're not well. . ." Clow muttered, pulling the stranger to the seat and setting him down. "I'm going to get some help . . . but what is your name?"

The stranger swallowed. Hei-ying gathered his wits enough to come up with a name, a plausible name. "Tomodachi Hoshi . . ."

"The Japanese way or the English?"

"Pardon?"

"Which one is your first name?"

Hei-ying lifted his head and stared into Clow's concerned blue eyes and was shocked as tears welled up and fell from his eyes. "Oh . . ." Clow's brow knitted with concern, more concern than Hei-ying had ever known him to show. "Please, it's all right. . . you're going to be fine . . . you've just got a little fever." He raised a gentle hand and Hei-ying couldn't help himself, craning his neck to nuzzle the hand slightly. Clow smiled warmly and his aura, that strange mix of sun, moon and star magic, filled Hei-ying. "See? You'll be fine . . ."

"Hoshi." Hei-ying breathed as Clow hugged him tightly, "My name . . . it's Hoshi."

"Very well, Hoshi . . . I'm going to get your master . . ." Clow pulled back and tucked a dark lock of brown hair back behind the stranger's ear. He smiled slightly as he let his fingers trail absently over Hoshi's lips. "You'll be fine . . . Star's friend."

"Thank you . . . Master Reed."

As the young magician retreated to the door, Hei-ying dropped his head again as the room began to spin again. He groaned quietly and lifted a trembling hand to press against his eyes. "Tomodachi-san?" Clow called back in Japanese, and he lifted his head briefly to look at the man. Clow smiled warmly, "Please call me Clow, I hate when people call me Master Reed." And with that the young man was gone. 

His hand opened and a knife flew from the rack into his palm. Roaring with weak pain, Hei-ying drew it back and threw it aimlessly toward the door with as much force as he had left. 

It bounced off the swinging kitchen door and clattered the floor uselessly. 

And with a quiet sob, Hei-ying collapsed and lay on the cold floor, clutching his head with digging sharp nails. 

**++**

There was a quiet knock at the study door and the door creaked open slowly.

Touya looked up from the window and frowned, Hei-ying had taken his time but he wouldn't be this hesitant. 

"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice called into the room as the door was pushed open more. "Hello?" 

Eriol stood, pushing out of his chair with surprise. "Clow Reed?!"

The young man, slightly bedraggled and pale stepped into the room and glanced around. "Hello!" He smiled with a hint of amused surprise. "I assume I've found the right room, I'm looking for . . ." he trailed off for a moment, searching his mind for the right name, "Master . . . Kinomoto?"

Touya stood from the window and paced over. "I'm Touya Kinomoto . . . how--?"

"Ah!" Clow interrupted and stepped over toward him, he was wearing Hei-ying's bathrobe. "It's about your servant, Tomodachi Hoshi?"

Touya glanced at the other uneasily, but nodded, "Yes?"

"He's a bit ill," the magician said with a hint of an English accent in his voice, "He was feeling a little faint in the kitchen and I think he might have a fever." He glanced at the others and their shocked expressions, "He told me about you . . . about the strange spell that apparently brought me to the future." 

"What's the last thing you remember?" The blue haired magician asked quietly.

Clow blinked, his glasses sliding down his nose as he thought. "Arriving here . . ." he said, more to himself than then, "Although when I woke up . . . I could have sworn the last thing I remembered was the coach journey . . ." 

The brown haired man with the serious brown eyes nodded sharply, "That's an aspect of the spell, you'll start to regain memories over time." 

"Oh . . ." Clow glanced between them, "Which of you is Master Li?"

The man with the serious eyes nodded again and bowed quickly, "I am. My name is Syaoran Li, I am Head of the Li Clan."

"Seriously?" Clow's eyes widened, "You look exactly like my uncle, Hei-ying . . . and you are of the Li Clan . . . but . . ." he frowned slightly and turned his gaze on Eriol, "And you . . . are Master . . . Hiirawagizawa?"

"Yes." 

"Oh. . ." Clow said quietly, staring at Eriol for a long time, clearly lost in some thought. He blinked though, and looked at Touya, "yes . . . Tomodachi Hoshi, your servant. He's ill."

 As the three other magicians ran down the stairs, Clow followed them down with a little more hesitation. He was going to regain his memories slowly, and with new eyes, looked around the hall. The magic circle engraved into the wood was both familiar and strange. If he had lived for sometime after arriving here, then more marks of his would become apparent. He paused halfway down the stairs and let the others tend to Tomodachi. He let his eyes flutter closed and concentrated on what he could feel from the house.

There was power here.

A clear divide of magicks. There were Sun-influenced magic, magicians and other things he couldn't quite put name to . . . and there was Moon-influenced magic, magicians and things again, he could not put a name to. Finally there was a strong source of Star-influenced magic, something he was very unfamiliar with. 

Clow opened his eyes and sighed. 

What on Earth had he gotten himself into now . . .?

He grinned slightly.

Well, at least it would be more interesting than saving the magic world from ruin.

----------------------

And Now It's Time For LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR WEATHERBYE!!!

DrM: Konni… ichi … [frowns as she reads] wha?!

DrW: It's me!! You requested me! MEEEEE!! [fluffs his long golden hair, adjusts his spectacles and grins broadly as he sit] Well, here we are at the end of another depressing chapter of Find Redemption … I certainly hope MY story doesn't turn out like this, but we are only up to chapter 7 so who knows WHAT will happen?!

DrM: Uh, excuse me?

DrW: So, you want to know ALL about me! I'm a magician, very tall, very handsome, modest, perfect, much more cheerful than our darling Hei-ying… [pauses and pushes glasses up a little more] though I notice, MY darling Hei-ying is MUCH more sane than YOUR darling Hei-ying, Clow!

Clow: But he's still handsome and just so sexy with all his 'I WANT YOU VERY DEAD NOW!', I could never resist that whole twisted blade obsession…

DrW: Oh, I know what you mean, I just LOVE crossbows myself… arrows, bows, it all really does it for me … LegoLUST, Hal-Oh-YEAH-Baby-dear…

Weatherbye's Darling Hei-ying: You bastard! You're lusting over other canon characters!

Clow's Darling Hei-ying: You should kill him for that.

DrM: [waves for attention] uh, Hello?

WD Hei-ying: I would, but I've sworn an oath not to kill… 

CD Hei-ying: What did you go do a silly thing like that for?

DrW: Because we're related!

WD Hei-ying: [pokes him] Please stop telling people we are related… You are only very distantly related to me, very, extremely distantly related to me …

Emlyn: [wanders in with Yue]: And that, Yue, is how we know the world is banana shaped.

DrM: [boggles] Emlyn! What are YOU doing here?!

Yue: What's going on here?! [points at all of DrM's original characters] WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!

Emlyn: Megan, dearest … If you will try to work on two stories at the same time… you must expect some sort of cross over … [raises eyebrow at Clow] Oh… it's you.

Clow: [nods tersely] Emlyn.

Emlyn: [nods back just as tersely] Clow.

[Both go to other sides of the room, the two Hei-yings retreat to the window and the two doctors find themselves standing in the middle of the room with one very irate looking moon-guardian]

DrW: [draws DrM aside] Really, you should know better than to let Clow and Emlyn meet each other, you KNOW they fell out over that girl a couple of centuries back!

DrM: [extremely confused] How can they fall out over a girl…? they don't even come from the same universe! Emlyn's a warlock and Clow's a Magician! [shakes head] 

[door opens and Gandalf and the Balrog fall out of the broom closet, Pippin and Captain Jack Sparrow step over the snogging pair gingerly and stand by DrM] 

Jack: [drunkenly] Well, luv… that's one savvy way to come out of the closet…

Pip: I quite agree, Captain … [glances up] DrM? You're looking a strange sort of purple …

DrM: [growls] that's IT!! [grabs broom and starts shooing away characters back to their universes] Out of my author's notes, ALL OF YOU!! OUT! OUT!! [swats Gandalf] AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER! [shakes her fist at Weatherbye] You started all of this, you finish it! Clow, grab your crazy Hei-ying and go back to Tainted Soul! Weatherbye, grab your slightly-more-sane Hei-ying and—

DrW: [helpfully] Molest him!?

DrM: [grows ominously]

WD Hei-ying: Weatherbye, please stop aggravating the Evil Overlord. [links arms and whispers] Behave, and you can molest me all you want. [they exit together with Emlyn]

Clow: Why can't I molest my Hei-ying?

Emlyn: [yelling back as Hei-ying and Weatherbye drag him back to their universe] BECAUSE YER CRAP IN BED!!

DrM: [waves her broom at Jack and Pippin] I'VE GOT A BROOM AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!

Yue: [sits down and massages his temples] What ever happen to the old days when it just used to be obsessed with me?

[Heero and Duo from Gundam Wing come crashing though the skylights]

Yue: [glares at them] Not a word, not a single damn word. [looks at the readers] Please R&R, I'm sure DrM didn't mean for the A/N's to go so crazy … but then, she's not exactly sane now, is she?

[Ahem, legal stuff: Doctor Revira Weatherbye, Ambassador Hei-ying Rael-Ninez and Warlock Emlyn Meadowbank are all original characters belonging to Megan J. Darliquinn aka Doctor Megalomania. Copyright © 2003, Thank you]


	16. Bittersweet

Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I DO, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!

"Speaking"

Stress/emphasis

Thinking

Extended [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]

In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .

By Dr Megalomania

Chapter Fifteen: Bittersweet

_[Please note: Author needed tea when she started chapter, apologies for over emphasis on the wonders of tea. Excuse me now; I'm going to go get a cup of tea and some chocolate cookies.]_

Chapter Fifiteen: Bittersweet

"Can you believe it?"

Spinel glanced over the rim of his mug and sighed, "yes, I do believe it . . ."

"Why are you so not impressed by anything?" Keroberos rolled his black little eyes, "aren't you excited?"

"Of course, just . . . I choose to restrain myself so early in the morning!" Spinel tutted quietly and flicked over the page. The two animal guardians had had to assume their false forms when the decision came in that they were going to hide the true forms of all the guardians until Clow remembered them or the right time came. When that time would come was still to be seen. Yukito was busy cooking something light to eat and tended to his three pots and the oven with meticulous attention. Spinel was trying to read a book of Clow's while Keroberos was enjoying his breakfast and sometimes even some of Spinel's when the little cat was busy reading.

The tiny golden bear grunted and swung his attention on Yukito, "are you excited?"

"I am . . ." Yukito smiled broadly as he sat beside Hei-ying, "just Yue is a little nervous. It feels strange, after we said good-bye to him . . . and now . . ."

"Ah, you can see how strange a man he really was!" Keroberos fluttered onto Yukito's shoulder, and chuckled as he chewed on a piece of toast, "although I've gotta say it's a real shame we can't show him our true forms just yet . . . he'd be so impressed by me!" He glanced over at Hei-ying, "don't you think?"

Like the others, Hei-ying was in his false form. Even so the previous night's illness still showed on the false form's drained features. With dark green eyes, he was staring deeply into his tea.

"Oi!" Kero yelled over at him irately, "don't ignore me!"

"Kero-chan, Hei-ying is thinking . . . leave him alone." Yukito admonished him quietly, glancing worriedly at Tomodachi's fierce concentration. The false form reached out and picked up the tea, sipping at it calmly, before he turned to look at his younger brothers.

His eyes were empty. Unseeing. It was almost as if he didn't understand what he was doing there, out of bed. Yukito's brow creased with concern. "Maybe you should be in bed, it is very early . . . and Touya did say he didn't want to see you before noon."

Tomodachi's dark green eyes blinked slowly once before he turned back to his contemplation of his tea. Keroberos frowned, his small mouth pulling downwards as he tried to suppress the growl that rattled behind his teeth. He didn't like Hei-ying like this. Not this silent ghost. Angry, he could take, happy, Keroberos needed time to get used to, but this . . . this silent, unseeing ghost who'd been growing it in his elder brother the last few days . . . it scared him.

Yukito jumped slightly as Keroberos suddenly laughed very loudly, very forcedly and fluttered off his shoulder to land on the table and sip his own tea from a teaspoon. "Well," he said, perhaps a little too loudly, "I still say he would be very impressed . . ."

"Impressed indeed by your outdated accent, and your overweight carcass . . ." Tomodachi muttered before he sipped his tea.

"Na . . . NANI?! KISAMA!! I AM NOT OVERWEIGHT!"

Clow blinked as a strong Osaka accent raged loudly as the door swung open. Hoshi was glaring, with a smirk pulling at his lips, at a small golden flying bear thing as it raged and shook its fist at him. A young grey haired boy sat beside Hoshi and was trying to calm the thing and another, blue cat like thing sat shaking its head over a book.

This small thing sat up straight and nodded to him very politely. Clow stepped in closer and smiled widely as silence descended on the room. "Uh, hello, good morning . . ." he dipped a quick bow, remembering his own Chinese manners, "it's a pleasure to meet you all . . ."

"Good morning, Master Reed." The small blue cat thing said in English, "I hope you have slept well, and that the room is to your liking."

Clow pushed his glasses a little further up his nose and leant over for a closer look at the small thing with clear, blue, tiny wings. His eyes widened and a small chuckle emerged from him, he pressed his hand against his mouth and blushed again, "I'm sorry, I . . ." he snickered, "who enchants teddy bears?! Cute!" Clow smiled, as he prodded the small blue one, "Enchanted stuffed animals!"

Naturally, Keroberos was the first to crack. "I'm not a stuffed animal!! I'm Keroberos!"

"Eh?!" Clow jumped and leant over to peer closer at the golden one, adjusting his spectacles, "not a stuffed animal . . .?"

"Uh huh!" Keroberos folded his arms importantly and tipped his chin up. Spinel got onto all fours and padded over to side beside the standing bear. Clow blinked and stared at the two before gently running a finger over Keroberos' head and wings, "that head . . . those wings . . ." he tilted his head to glance at both the strange curling tails, "those tails . . . ah!" Clow smiled widely, "I know what you are!"

"Ho, ho!" Keroberos crowed quietly, nodding as if he knew what Clow's answer would be.

"Pixies! You're pixies that speak human language!"

"EH!!" Keroberos jerked with surprise, and swung around to glare at Clow, "Nani?!"

Spinel shook his head slowly, and pressed a small paw against his forehead. Nakuru and Yukito chuckled quietly and Clow looked up to catch Hoshi's quick smile.

It faded as he lifted his teacup and drank from it, but Clow nevertheless felt the urge to make him smile again. He had planned on spending some time with the sickly servant. Straightening, Clow stepped over to the servant and smiled down at him. "I hope you are well, Tomodachi-san."

Finally, Hoshi flicked his eyes up toward Clow, "fine . . ." he murmured quietly, "I'm fine."

"Good," Clow's smile widened, "I'm glad." He looked around, "I was hoping you would introduce me to . . ." he motioned around the table, "your family, I think is how you described them."

"Heh! We're some family!" Nakuru crowed as she slid into a seat next to Clow and linked her arm with his, "let's see . . . well, there's me, Nakuru Akizuki. And you will call me Nakuru." She wagged a finger at him, "I will not let you call me Akizuki. No! Na-Ku-Ru!"

"Nakuru-chan, fine, fine!" Clow laughed at the bouncy young woman and turned his gaze on the small blue cat thing, "and you are. . .?"

"Spi—"

"Suppi-chan!" Nakuru interrupted, "he's Suppi-chan! Everyone calls him Suppi-chan!"

Clow smiled and glanced at Spinel as he shook his head and muttered, "my name is not Suppi." He sighed and pushed the book he was reading closed. "My name is Spinel Sun, this . . . energetic personality is my twin guardian."

"Guardian?" Clow blinked, "I thought you were servants . . ." he glanced at Hoshi as the other sipped his tea again.

"We're not servants," the grey haired boy said quietly as he poured a cup of tea for Clow, he smiled as he set it down. "My name's Yukito Tsukishiro." Clow looked up at the kind face and the polite smile and couldn't help but smile warmly back. "Thank you . . . you're Tomodachi-san's youngest brother?"

"Hai."

"There doesn't seem to be much of an age difference between you." Clow leant forward as he put a spoonful of sugar in his tea and stirred it slowly, "I was expecting a child by the way Tomodachi-san described you."

Yukito smiled, glancing at Tomodachi. He is ten years my senior.

"Really?!" Clow jerked with surprise, "but you can't be more than eighteen!" He glanced at Tomodachi, "and you look no older than twenty at the least."

"We are far older than you think we are." Tomodachi said quietly, and his tone allowed for no more conversation on the topic. Clow tilted his head and frowned a little before there was a loud cough, "AHEM!"

He blinked and smiled down at the small golden bear, "and you are?"

"Keroberos!" The Osaka accent of the bear was very deep and it surprised Clow, all the others had some degree of Englishness in their voices, but this little one . . .

"Tell me something, you are guardians of whom?"Nakuru grinned, "Suppi-chan and I are guardians to Mistress Tomoyo and Master Eriol . . ." she pointed to Keroberos and Yuki, "they are Guardians to Mistress Sakura and Tomodachi-kun is guardian to Master Touya."

"Really?" Clow asked quietly, he glanced at Tomodachi. "May I ask why there is no second guardian for Touya-san?"

"No." Tomodachi said quietly, "you may not. You've asked enough questions about my family." Tomodachi's dark green eyes narrowed, "the hard work of my brother and cousin is going to waste as you continue to inquire about things that do not concern you at this point." Tomodachi lifted his tea and sipped it. He set it down again with a look of disgust curling his lip. The bone china cup clinked louder than necessary against the saucer as he glared at the rapidly cooling breakfast with irritation, "even my tea is cold."

"I'll get you another." Yukito rose from his seat, but Tomodachi slipped out his seat faster and headed to the door. "Matte! Oniichan!"

Clow stared at the door, as it slammed shut and frowned. He wondered what was really wrong with Tomodachi.

"And this is my wife, Tomoyo."

Eriol glanced at his wife and smiled warmly. The long introductions were complete and Clow shook hands with each of them politely. Syaoran stared at the man hard for a moment, perhaps searching for some of the family connection, Sakura welcome him warmly and it was clear Clow felt some connection to her. The guardians were clearing away the breakfast table as the magicians talked in the large downstairs study. Clow was reluctant to leave the guardians to it, but with Keroberos and Nakuru both pushing him out of the doors and slamming them shut after them, he didn't really have a choice. Eriol smiled again, as he motioned a seat for Clow and sat by his wife.

"Do you have any questions?"

Clow smirked faintly and pushed his spectacles further up his nose, "thousands. But first and foremost, what spell brought me here?"

"We're not entirely sure, a magician from china was trying to resurrect you for some reason . . ." Eriol glanced at Sakura as she answered. The green eyed woman paused, "we don't know why he wanted to bring you back to life, but we do know that he also brought one of our friends back to life as well."

Clow frowned, "is he holding them hostage?"

"We don't know," Syaoran folded his arms and paced to the window. "Until you get your memory back, we may never know."

"Me?" Clow raised an eyebrow, "why?"

Eriol leant forward, "there may be something in your memory about the spell, but we won't know until it all comes back to you."

"But we won't abandon Mei-rin!" Syaoran growled, he span and glared at the others. "We must keep trying to find her!"

"Of course," Touya raised a hand, "we cannot allow Maduokai to get away with her. But where to start? China is a huge country, Li, you of all people know that!"

Syaoran sat down as Sakura nodded, we won't give up, but we need to find a place to start. Clow watched them quietly, crossing his legs and sitting back as if he was only observing them all. He stared at Eriol as the man spoke, trying to put his finger on the familiarity. His memories were only thus far of entering the house and making some minor repairs to it. He wasn't as fond of Eriol as he was of Sakura, and he didn't know why. He admired Syaoran and Touya but there was something about Eriol, something that made Clow feel a little wary of the boy.

It felt like Eriol was constantly watching Clow.

Like Eriol knew Clow on some level Clow didn't even know himself, and that admittedly scared the young magician. Out of all of them, Tomoyo felt the most distant. Her magic was widely different from Clow's, not a variation like the others felt. Sakura was a new magic in itself, yet was based on Clow's. Aside from that much, he hadn't really figured out the powers within the group.

Eriol was sun based, Syaoran and Touya more moon based. This pattern extended to the self proclaimed guardians as well, Nakuru and Yukito were obviously moon personalities and the two small creatures were sun. Only Tomodachi was star based.

Clow sighed and sank deeper into his chair as he watched them discuss their next course of action. Maybe this wasn't going to be as fun as he thought it would be. Five hundred years after his death? Clow had always assumed, thanks to his magic, Clow would live a little longer. . . or at least he hoped, he'd lived long enough. he closed his eyes and pressed a hand over them, he didn't even know how long he had lived let alone when he had died.

"Are you very confused?"

Clow jerked as Tomoyo's quiet voice addressed him. "Hm?!" He sat up and blinked at her, she smiled warmly.

"It's okay, if you are confused . . . first ask your questions," she motioned around, "this is discussion that can wait for a moment."

Coughing, Clow blushed slightly, "I'm sorry, I just . . . it's sinking in to my mind now, I don't know anything about this world. Even less about myself, or what I did."

"You were a brilliant magician!" Sakura leant forward and smiled, "truly amazing! You made so many beautiful things! The new magic you created is incredible!"

Her warmth forced a smile from Clow, "thank you. I'm glad you liked them," he tilted his head, "I'm sure that's why I made them."

"Hoe?" Sakura tilted her head quizzically and Clow laughed.

"Why, to make you happy!" He closed his eyes and smiled widely, "I always like making people smile, it's a far better to do, than writing lots of books." He blinked as he felt a slight shift of magic at the door. There was a knock and the door opened to reveal the three human guardians.

"Time for tea!" Nakuru cheerfully enthused, she winked broadly at Clow. "I don't know about you, but my Master Eriol can't do without a cup of tea at hand!"

"Aaah! Sugoi!"

Clow blinked as he raised his hand to catch a cherry blossom petal. The large cherry tree in the middle of the beautiful gardens rained the surrounding area with such beautiful blossoms, and Clow was awe struck by the simple beauty of the small, light cerise petals. He shrugged out of his cloak and sank down to lean his back against the thick trunk of the tree. He closed his eyes and simply breathed.

His mind still swirled with the overlord of information he'd been presented with.

Alive? After five hundred years? Master Magician? Creator of a new magic?!

He frowned slightly, he was all these things, everything the oracles had told his family over and over. The very existence he had tried to escape. Clow sighed deeply, he would never escape truly, he'd known that deep in his heart. His mother had always taught him that there was no coincidence in this world, only fate. It was his fate to become this Master magician, and it had come about.

He sighed.

There really wasn't any escaping it.

However . . . Clow breathed in the sweet scent of the air, it had rained the night before and had left the day warmer, cleaner. Whatever he had done in the past, of which he would soon remember, had left behind all of the people in the mansion. All of them were some how linked to him, he was happy to know that the Li Clan had continued and apparently stayed strong. Admittedly he was very nervous, hence why he had awoken so early and taken a walk outside. He had looked around the gardens and was happy to see that they were all so very well tended. This cherry tree thrummed with powerful magic, and the plants were all growing strong. He could not envision nasty people taking such good care over his garden.

A new aura touched down nearby, and Clow opened his eyes.

Mistress Sakura landed with delicate, light pink wings – the colour of the cherry blossoms around him - on her back. In someway she reminded him of his Chinese family, the way her clothes were always perfect for each occasion. Her clothes looked very unique, her cloak was slightly too heavy for the day's warmth, but its rich pink suited her too well to be simply bought. Her clothes underneath it were almost uniform, delicate pinks and whites. She turned and spotted him with bright, emerald green eyes.

A bright smile filled her features like a sunrise after a long night.

As before, Clow almost gasped aloud with the sudden feeling of love he felt for her. It was not the spiky, sensual love he'd felt for other girls while he had been growing up, it was the love he felt whenever he'd looked into his mother's eyes, when his father held him . . . it was the love of family. He knew this girl, and yet . . . he didn't . . . he did know for certain, that he loved her for being in existence.

"Clow-sama!"

He blinked out of his thoughts as she waved to him and started to run toward him. Her wings disappeared with a soft whisper of pink tinged magic and reformed into a small card, slipping silently back into her pocket. Clow blinked at the occurrence, but thought little over it as the girl slowed to a breathy stop. He smiled up at her from his seat but the tree trunk. She stared at him, with warm eyes.

"You look very beautiful, Miss Kinomoto."

Clow swallowed the urge to chuckle as Sakura turned a deep shade of red. He motioned the grass beside him, "Please join me, I assure you the grass is quite dry . . ."

Sakura grinned happily, her cute blush receding, "thank you!" She sat down beside him, kneeling rather than stretching her legs out before her like Clow was doing. "But I prefer to be called Sakura!" She elbowed him gently, "so, you can call me so as well!"

Clow chuckled, "very well . . . Sakura-san it is!"

"Chan!" Sakura frowned, wrinkling her nose, "San make me sound old!"

"Sakura-chan then!" Clow laughed at her expression, "if only you call me by a different name rather than sama!"

"Clow-san?"

Clow nodded, "that I can live with . . . he frowned, will everyone refer to me as a master?"

Sakura shrugged, "maybe . . . you mean a lot to all of us."

Clow nodded and thought for a moment, he sighed and glanced up, "Sakura is my favourite kind of flower . . ." With a smile tugged at his lips, he raised a hand to catch a cherry blossom as it floated down, "Your name seems to suit you perfectly, you are not only very cute, you are very sweet too!"

Clow chuckled inwardly as the blush returned full force as the girl stammered another 'thank you'. He smiled at her bemusedly; her presence was very warm and constantly happy. She stared up at the tree for a long moment, before she began to speak. "Tomodachi-san mentioned you had awoken during the night . . . I'm sorry that you woke up alone . . ."

"That's all right," Clow lifted the blossom to look at it. "Tomodachi-san explained very little to me, but it was enough so I wasn't afraid." He glanced at her quickly, "he's very cold, isn't he?"

"Cold?" Sakura glanced down at her lap, "Tomodachi-san has had a bad life, he has been very hurt in the past and he has hurt lots of people as well." She pursed her lips and looked at him with challenging emerald green eyes. "But he's getting better! He is better! It's just, just . . . nobody trusts him to do it right now!" She frowned deeply, "I won't let anything happen to him, I'm going to take care of him!"

Clow blinked at her fierce expression and looked down at the blossom again. "You are very strong, I know you can do it!" He stroked the blossom softly, "why was he hurt?"

Sakura sighed and looked out across the garden. "Nobody knows why. . ." she sucked in her lip and murmured quietly, "and I think I'm glad we might never really know."

Clow frowned at this but sought no further information.

Sunlight stole across the bed sheets, and her mattress dipped.

Meilin gasped as a hand stroked the side of her face, and her eyes shot open. She glared at the tall man, Lord Maduokai Kuei as he smiled at her gently. "Ah, you are awake then . . ." he tilted his head slightly as he murmured, his hand ever so gentle as it stole down her cheek to her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"You . . ." Meilin spat, she shook his hand off her face and scrambled back, "Why am I here?! That dragon, you sent it?!"

"Sent a dragon for you?" He raised a mildly amused eyebrow, "no, no . . . my dragons are not the killing sort . . ." he chuckled, "if anything I want to try and avoid that most distasteful of crimes as I strive to achieve my objective. . ."

"If you try to harm Sakura, I swear . . ." Meilin growled at him viciously, "I swear it on my family honour that not one of the Li's will rest until we have avenged her!"

Maduokai's eyebrows rose as he lent back from her, "you're so . . . lively. . ." he breathed with amazement, "I thought that your beauty demanded icy calm . . . but I see now that you are enlivened more with fury . . ."

Bastard! Meilin snapped, she turned away from him and shuffled off the large bed, she looked around the room, "I will not be left here!" She snarled at him darkly, as she looked around something to pull around her body and hide herself from his serene gaze. She wore nothing but a strapped white nightdress, which barely brushed the back of her knees. She huffed angrily as she realised she couldn't find anything to pull about her body, "no! Li Syaoran, the Clan Head of the Li Family knows that you have me!" she breathed out sharply as he got up and rounded the bed coming toward her, "and I will do everything in my power to escape you and warn Sakura of your vile plot!"

"So dramatic!" Maduokai's dark grey eyes lit as he approached her, clearly not afraid of her. He walked toward her, his robes quietly swishing as he came to a stop just within touching distance of her, "it is wonderful . . . to see you with such life. . ." he smiled and raised his hand to touch her cheek again, but she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it away. He smiled slightly, the angle she was pushing his wrist at obviously hurting him but he had no care. Maduokai lent forward, "you shall not escape. I need you."

"For what?" Meilin stared at him closely, trying desperately not to let her fear show through. He was unbelievably calm as she almost bent his wrist back so far it would break should she apply more pressure. His dark grey eyes narrowed fondly, "for what I plan to use you for." He lent forward and brushed his lips over hers, kissing her lightly, before pushing forward to kiss her hard. Meilin's beautiful eyes were wide as she blinked, staring at the calm man's closed eyes.

He chuckled as he pulled back and swallowed, "sweet . . . my darling Lady, you taste very sweet . . . I would hate to have to kill you when I don't even know your real name."

Meilin blinked again, rapidly loosing her battle against her tremors. "I thought . . . I thought you wouldn't kill anyone . . ."

His dark grey eyes – unremarkable in their colour, but extremely composed – opened slowly as he smiled again, "for you I will make the exception . . . you cannot escape, I will not allow you . . ."

He pulled his hand from her loosened grip and began to step out of the room. Meilin stared at him, her chest rising and falling sharply as she felt the threat of tears. He stopped in the doorway and stared back at her, "come now . . ." he murmured as he pulled out a small handkerchief from his magician cloaks, "such a beautiful woman should not cry . . ."

Meilin took a step back as he lifted the handkerchief to her eyes, he dabbed her eyes softly, and asked her gently, "now, what is your name my fine lady?"

"Meilin . . ." Meilin stared at him with haunted, dead eyes, "Li Meilin."

"Very well, my Lady Meilin. . ." His grey eyes were warm as he stepped back and bowed slightly, "I believe you know my name . . ." he turned again, leaving the handkerchief on the small dresser, "you will find the finest of traditional clothing in your wardrobes but if you wish for anything else, then you will find me in my studies on the fourth floor . . . dinner will be at nightfall, my servants will attend you beforehand." He bowed once more as he grasped the handles of the double doors and stared at her, "Lady Meilin, you have free reign over the grounds, but ensure you stay on them . . ."

Meilin felt her anger build as he bowed for a last time and pulled her doors shut again. She looked around the room, and growled, stomping over to the window she stared out at the wilder parts of China. The Great Wall trailed away from her prison, and her kidnapper was cordial and kindly. Meilin's fist smashed against the stone window frame as she closed her eyes and allowed her head to fall forward.

"Help me. . . Sakura . . ." she whispered fiercely, "please help me. . ."

A week past, and soon Clow was dressed in clothes that he recognised more.

Tomoyo had done a wonderful job and provided Clow with three sets of casual clothing, one of formal, and two sets of pyjamas. Clow had insisted that he helped her, so the clothes were soon made. Sakura helped Clow a lot with re-learning some magic spells, and Clow learnt each of the cards. Eriol and Syaoran, taking Spinel Sun with them, decided to leave for China, going to the Li clan to tell them more about the mysterious man who'd not only brought Clow Reed back to life, but had also kidnapped Li Meilin.

The search for Meilin commenced, Syaoran's sisters travelling to the outer regions of china, visiting each province to find out if any Li Clan members had heard of this Lord Maduokai Kuei and his four elemental dragons. The elders began to contact the Li family who'd moved abroad, searching for this strange man and what possibly he could have wanted with Clow Reed, Li Meilin and Clow's third guardian Hei-ying.

Meanwhile, making sure that Clow was comfortable and safe as he recovered his memories was the main concern with the people left behind at the Tsukimine Mansion. Keroberos and Nakuru spent most of their time keeping Clow entertained; Touya and Yukito spent their time educating Clow in the ways of this new life. Hei-ying spent his time keeping as far away from Clow as he could.

Clow sighed as he flicked through the latest book, it wasn't that Spinel's writing was boring; in fact it was incredibly interesting to read the entries of the small being's magical observations. It was just . . . he was bored, very bored, extremely bored. Clow sucked in his bottom lip and smiled as he remembered some of his past. Whenever he was bored, he'd work on a new spell or bother mister Hilligans.

He couldn't do the latter, the old man was . . . Clow's eyes closed, the old man was dead. He could do the former though . . . but there wasn't any real need for him to do it. That was the problem, there wasn't any real need for Clow to be here at all, he wasn't needed. He knew he should have felt a little relieved at this; the pressure of his family, his future and his responsibilities was gone. However, now what would he do with himself? Clow shook his head, it wasn't healthy for him to think like this, and resolved not to.

"Oi! Tomodachi-kun!! Ne, ne!!" Nakuru's musical tones drew his attention as they neared the door. Clow tilted his head as the library doors swung open, and the five guardians walked in, Spinel and Keroberos riding on the heads and shoulders of Nakuru and Yukito. Yukito was holding a brown paper bag, and eating a small round cake. He chuckled as he reached up and allowed Keroberos to eat from it as well. Tomodachi was walking slightly ahead of the group as Nakuru chased after him, "Ne!! Tomodachi-kun!!"

Spinel floated off her head and onto Yukito's shoulder, shaking his head as he watched his sister guardian and refusing to snack on Yuki's cake. Tomodachi huffed and turned, "what? What is it you want?!"

"You're ignoring me! Don't you think the new robes that Tomoyo-sama has made for Clow-sama are wonderful?"

Tomodachi rolled his eyes, "they look just like his old robes . . ." the green eyed being trailed off as Clow stood up from the window seat. The young magician smiled charmingly as he set down his book and did a small twirl, he smoothed his hand down the front of his new robes and chuckled, "well, I think they most certainly are wonderful!"

"Clow-sama!!" Nakuru giggled happily and ran over to him, "why are you here?!" She pointed out the window, "it's such a lovely day outside today!!"

"Heh." Clow smiled at the girl in his arms, "I thought I would bask in the sunlight as I studied your brother guard's writings. . ."

Nakuru grimaced as she looked over at the book, "yuck! But Suppi-kun-kun is always so serious!!"

"My name is not Suppi." The blue being floated toward them, his little blue wings hardly beating, "I hope it isn't too complicated for you, Master Clow."

"Not at all, but . . ." Clow blushed slightly, "you all really don't have to keep calling me 'master' . . . I'm just a magician, not—"

"You are Clow Reed, master magician." Clow blinked as Tomodachi moved away from his brothers and cousins, he glared at Clow with a hint of irritation in his eyes, "requests to be known as anything else will be ignored, we cannot, and will not ignore the fact that you are a first class magician who created most of the magical creations in this household." His bottle green eyes narrowed, making Clow swallow slightly, "do you understand this now? You cannot and will not be referred to as anything else, accept this and spare us your—"

Tomodachi broke off as Yukito placed a hand on his shoulder. Amber eyes met bottle green for a long moment, before Tomodachi let off a sigh and stalked away to the various books. Yukito glanced at Clow and smiled warmly, "how are your studies going?"

Clow glanced after Tomodachi, before he quietly answered, "uh . . . the are going well, thank you . . ." Clow blanched as he swallowed again, "I seem to constantly offend him . . . I'm sorry."

"Don't worry yourself, Clow!" Keroberos' small musical voice sounded as the small being floated to seat in the sunlight, "like I said, that old guy is always mad at something . . . mad at me, mad at the Snow Rabbit . . . hell, he even gets mad at himself sometimes, it's really not such a big thing to have him mad at something, in fact I think I would be more worried if he wasn't mad. . . hey, Snow Rabbit! Can you imagine what it would be like if Tomodachi was like Nakuru . . .?"

Clow's attention drifted from Keroberos, and on to the slim figure perusing the books in small library. Clow liked that the same arrangement from his old library and study had been kept. He'd yet to know why Eriol, Touya and Sakura seemed the favour the one downstairs, it was so large! He liked this one because it was . . . cosy. He smiled as he quietly excused himself from the conversation, and made his way over to Tomodachi. Tomodachi was peering through his monocle at the larger volumes on the lower shelves, his expression fairly pleasant compared to the normally tight frown he seemed to wear constantly. Clow coughed quietly, trying to alert Tomodachi of his presence. The chocolate brown braid flopped to the floor over Tomodachi's shoulder as he turned his head to look up at Clow, his almost happy expression disappearing as a cool frown settled over his brow, "may I help you, Master Reed?"

"Actually I was wondering if I could help you!" Clow chuckled politely, "I know these books like the back of my hand, and I'm glad to see that my old system of books is still in place . . ." he smiled warmly, "are you looking for a particular book?"

"No."

"Oh really?" Clow kept his smile in place, reaching up to pull a volume from the shelves, "then may I suggest this?" He presented the book forward, "it's a book written by my uncle . . ." Clow glanced down at the cover fondly, "my uncle was a most interesting writer, I have no doubt that you would enjoy this too . . ."

Tomodachi arched an eyebrow as he took the book from Clow's hands, and stared at the name, "you were very . . . adoring . . . of your Uncle Hei-ying . . ." the guardian commented dryly, he slid the book back into its place and moved past Clow, he paused to glance at his family, "I think I may enjoy the day . . . if you should need me, I shall be in the gardens."

Yuki blinked at the abrupt announcement and Kero sat up, "Tomodachi?"

Hei-ying's false form's nostrils flared as his dark green eyes sparked slightly with jade, "I shall be in the garden, unless there is something of importance . . ."

"We will try to sort things out before we call you." Spinel floated over to the desk, and sat down with a book. Clow sucked in his bottom lip, hesitating before he stepped forward as well, "I would like to take in some air as well . . ." he said, stepping closer to the dark haired guard, "if you don't mind the company . . ."

Tomodachi's shoulders were slightly tense as he glanced at Clow, "if you insist . . ."

"May I ask something of you?"

Tomodachi sighed as he slowed to a stop beside Clow, "what do you wish to know?" He stared at the young magician, thus far Clow had succeeded in remaining utterly silent, the sudden question had been brewing and until this moment Clow had not had the courage to break the gentle, tense quiet between them. The magician bit his bottom lip, "you seem . . ." he tilted his head as the dark forest green eyes stared at him with emotionless control. "You seem . . . uncomfortable with me."

"I . . ." The guardian raised a hand to his hip and looked away, "I cannot deny this."

"But why?" Clow motioned them forward, hoping the cold but beautiful garden would distract them from the tension. He glanced at Tomodachi's profile and wondered at the beauty of the man. Yukito and Tomodachi were very similar in looks, both having sharp noses, long thin bodies, and inherent grace in every motion. The only place they differed seriously was that Tomodachi's skin was a shade darker, his hair was a rich, dark brown and his eyes . . . Tomodachi's eyes were old, angry and watchful. He had had a bad life, and his eyes merely sung of his trouble.

"My reasons are my own . . ." Tomodachi finally answered, "I am who I am, I cannot change this fact . . ." he glanced at Clow briefly, catching the young magician's blue eyes, "you are who you are . . . however you . . ." at this, the guardian glanced away, Clow remained silent knowing that the guard would speak again. "However, you Master Reed, remind me very much of an old master of mine . . ."

"Ah." Clow was silent, patiently waiting for the quiet man to speak again. For the longest time, it felt like Tomodachi would remain silent for the rest of their walk, yet as they rounded a corner and came across the pond, the green eyed guardian paused.

He stared at the pond calmly, contemplatively and Clow imagined he saw a great sorrow in his eyes. Too deep to even begin to understand. The thought galvanised Clow, and he felt his stubborn nature demand he at least try to understand this strange guardian. Tomodachi was surrounded by many who were good and kind, who laughed easily and loved deeply, Tomodachi remained untouched by their mirth, cold to their warmth, outside of their hearts. The young magician stared out across the pond.

"Do you remember anything of your life, Clow Reed?"

Clow blinked at the sound of the guard's quiet voice, but continued to stare at the pond. "I remember my parents, my family… how I ran away from them …"

"Would you run again … if you knew what your life turned out as…?" Tomodachi stepped closer to the pond and crouched down low. Clow stared at the guard's back as the quiet voice continued. "I wish I could run away …"

"Why?"

Tomodachi's pale hand dipped into the water.

"Why would you run, Tomodachi?" Clow asked carefully, not willing to startle the guard in his pensive mood. "What is here that you would desire so strongly to escape …?" The young magician stepped closer and frowned, "is it me?"

"Yes."

Clow knelt by Tomodachi at this and stared into the pallid features, glancing down at the pale hand as it drew meaningless patterns into the water. "Who am I to you? Who was your master, that I remind you so much of him?"

"My master was powerful …" Tomodachi whispered, "he was so handsome and he was cold, as handsome and cold as the night. There was a time when I was enough to keep him, keep his attention …" the green eyes fluttered shut and the head of the guard dipped, rich brown strands of hair falling over his face, hiding him from Clow. "But then … he grew used to my presence, and no longer was I enough to sustain him during the night …our days grew cold, our nights grew dark … and I've not even the promise nor memory that he ever truly loved me … a smile pulled at Tomodachi's lips ruefully, and everything he ever did to me was done out of lust … never a kiss that did not bruise, never a touch that does not make me shiver … I wonder …" Tomodachi lifted his head and stared into the pond, unaware of Clow's presence anymore, "did you ever think of me when you turned me away, locked me away and forgot about me? Did a night pass when you missed my body and wondered about my heart? When no other came to your bed … when all were below you … was my memory ever in your mind's eye?"

Clow stared at Tomodachi for a moment before a movement in the water caught his eye.

Just below the surface something shifted … the young magician frowned a leant over to peer closer to the water. His reflection stared back for a moment before fading. Clow tilted his head and sat back. Tomodachi was far too lost in his thoughts to notice the strange occurrence, so the young magician leant over and stared again. His reflection was gone, replaced this time with the image of a black haired child with deep jade green eyes.

Sakura sighed as she turned away from Clow's door, the magician was absolutely nowhere in the house.

She shivered and frowned as she looked up, before her Nakuru's door had come open… and a dull green light began to spill out of it like a fine mist. She felt herself take a step back. No. This couldn't be happening again … a shadow passed though the fine green glow, walking back and forth. She felt sick to her stomach and struggled to make her lips move, "Syao … ran …" she whispered, as the shadow grew darker as it passed closer and closer to the threshold of the door.

On the floor below her, Yukito turned uneasily in Touya's arms. In his mind, he saw a door. A locked door. He heard a voice, the ghost's voice singing gently. A whimper escaped his lips as the dream turned, the door became a window high up in the mansion. When the voice became a face. The dream turned and he found himself staring up at the pale face.

"I'm still here." The pale lips sneered at him, the blank jade eyes sparkled dimly. "Still here …"

Sakura felt a tear push from her emerald eyes and streak down her cheek as the shadow became solid and stepped out of the room. The child's pale face scared her … but not as much as his jade eyes. "Hei-ying …" she whispered, "why?"

The child ghost of Hei-ying was wet, soaked and dripping as slowly walked toward her. His pale hand extended and felt the cold all around her.

Touya frowned as he woke up, sensing something was wrong. Yukito whimpered beside him, trapped in his dream. A fine sheen of sweat covered his lover as his features flushed wildly. Grasping Yukito's thin shoulders tightly, Touya set about trying to wake him with soothing words and a warm touch. He glanced about them, their nap together was meant to a peaceful time, sometime for them to catch up with each other. Not about nightmares.

The child's fingers were cold as ice, cold as death itself.

This minor fact was one of a myriad of things Sakura noticed about this ghost of the past. He stood there, staring at her with his blank eyes, merely holding his hand.

"What do you want from me?"

The child smiled darkly.

The child smiled darkly.

Clow felt vaguely sick as he stared at the little boy with such fine black hair and jade green eyes.

"What do you want from me?"

The child asked sweetly, though Clow would wager that the pale lips never parted to utter the words.

"Tell me Master Clow, you'd only need ask …"

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And now it's time to LEAVE IT TO DOCOTR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Well, i must say i'm impressed with FF.net... this is most useful new thing they have, this whole quick edit thing... very cool! anyway, see? see? i can update when i put my mind to it! three whole updates to boot... okay, two are from Gundam Wing, but i'#m getting there, getting there!! Please R&R and tell me what you think!!


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